News Brief: Paramount’s Pursuit Backfires, Enriching Rivals in WBD Sale
Summary
Paramount Skydance’s attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has backfired, triggering a sale process that ultimately awarded WBD’s key assets to Netflix and significantly enriched WBD’s CEO and shareholders, while leaving Paramount empty-handed and considering a hostile takeover bid.
Key Points
- Netflix Wins Bidding War: Netflix agreed to acquire WBD’s film studio and HBO Max streaming service for $27.75 per share, a deal valued at $72 billion.
- Paramount’s Role: Paramount’s initial interest and letters to WBD sparked the formal sale process, which attracted Netflix and Comcast, ultimately driving up WBD’s share price.
- Major Payout for WBD’s Zaslav: WBD CEO David Zaslav stands to gain approximately $660 million from the transaction due to his stock holdings and options.
- Shareholder Windfall: WBD’s stock price more than doubled since Paramount’s interest became public, returning to 2022 merger levels.
- Paramount Cries Foul & Considers Hostile Move: Paramount accuses WBD of rigging the process in Netflix’s favor and is now weighing a direct, improved all-cash offer to WBD shareholders, potentially above $30 per share.
- Regulatory Dispute: Paramount argues its bid for the entire company (including TV networks) has better regulatory approval odds than Netflix’s partial acquisition, though both offers include multi-billion-dollar breakup fees.
新闻简报：派拉蒙竞购适得其反，华纳兄弟探索频道出售案中对手获利
摘要
派拉蒙天空之舞对华纳兄弟探索频道（WBD）的收购尝试事与愿违。其发起的收购进程最终导致WBD的核心资产被Netflix夺得，并让WBD的CEO和股东财富大增，而派拉蒙自己却空手而归，目前正考虑发起敌意收购要约。
关键点
- Netflix赢得竞购战：Netflix同意以每股27.75美元的价格收购WBD的电影制片厂和HBO Max流媒体服务，交易估值达720亿美元。
- 派拉蒙的角色：派拉蒙最初的兴趣以及致WBD的信函引发了正式出售程序，吸引了Netflix和康卡斯特参与，最终推高了WBD的股价。
- WBD CEO扎斯拉夫巨额获利：得益于其持有的股票和期权，WBD首席执行官大卫·扎斯拉夫将从此次交易中获得约6.6亿美元的收益。
- 股东意外之财：自派拉蒙的收购意向公开以来，WBD股价上涨了一倍多，回到了2022年华纳媒体与探索频道合并时的水平。
- 派拉蒙指责不公并考虑敌意行动：派拉蒙指责WBD在出售过程中偏袒Netflix，目前正考虑直接向WBD股东提出改进后的全现金收购要约，价格可能高于本周提交的每股30美元。
- 监管争议：派拉蒙声称其收购整个公司（包括电视网络）的方案比Netflix部分收购获得监管批准的机会更大，尽管两份要约都包含数十亿美元的交易终止费。
Original Article Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/05/paramount-david-ellison-wbd-bidding-war-hostile-bid.html