The board of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a giant in the U.S. media industry, rejected Paramount Skydance's acquisition proposal and recommended that shareholders accept Netflix's offer.
On the 17th (local time), Reuters and others reported that Samuel Di Piazza, WBD chairman and chair of the board, said, "After reviewing Paramount's tender offer, we found its value insufficient and that it imposes considerable risk and expense on shareholders." He added, "A merger with Netflix would deliver superior and more certain value to shareholders."
Earlier, Paramount presented WBD with an all-cash acquisition plan of $30 per share, totaling $108 billion (about 158 trillion won). It was about $25 billion more than Netflix's $83 billion (about 122 trillion won) mixed stock-and-cash proposal.
However, the WBD board concluded that Paramount's financing approach was uncertain. The point was that it was unclear how aggressively Larry Ellison—the Oracle founder and the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison—would provide support.
In a CNBC interview, Di Piazza said, "We were not convinced that one of the wealthiest individuals in the world (Larry Ellison) would participate," adding, "It is good to complete a transaction, but it is more important to close the transaction."
Netflix said it welcomed the WBD board's recommendation. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said, "This decision is the best outcome for consumers, creators, shareholders, and the entertainment industry at large," adding, "We look forward to combining with WBD's theatrical film institutional sector, its world-class TV studio, and the HBO brand."