How Netflix, Paramount Sparked A $108 Billion Media War For Warner Bros. Discovery

(Editor’s note: This Dec. 26 story has been updated to include the latest developments in the takeover battle)

The sale of HBO-owner Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) has become the entertainment and streaming industry’s Game of Thrones, with Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) battling for control.

Warner Bros.’ decision to favor Netflix’s $82.7 billion offer triggered a $108 billion hostile takeover bid from Paramount for the company's entire slate of media assets. The Larry Ellison-backed media firm, run by his son David Ellison, has urged Warner shareholders to sell their shares to Paramount.

Here’s an updated timeline of what has happened so far—

• Jan. 12: David Ellison and Paramount move to sue WBD, say they intend to launch a proxy fight; WBD deems the lawsuit “meritless”

• Jan. 8: Paramount reaffirms its $30 per share cash offer, saying Netflix’s bid
  “unmistakably inferior”

• Jan. 7, 2026: WBD rejects Paramount’s offer again, saying the bid is "inferior" to Netflix’s offer

• Dec. 22, 2025: Larry Ellison, worth more than $240 billion, is backing Paramount's bid with a $40.4 billion personal guarantee. The amended offer follows Warner's sharp criticism of Paramount's $30-per-share proposal, which cited financing opacity and execution risk. Paramount urged shareholders to tender by Jan. 21 and raised its reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion

• Dec. 17: Warner Bros. formally rejects Paramount’s hostile bid, accusing the Ellison family of failing to put money into the deal, and concludes the Netflix offer is far superior

• Dec. 16: President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, whose private equity firm had promised $200 million, withdraws from Paramount's bidding team.

• Dec. 15: Netflix seeks to soothe its staff’s concerns and defends Warner Bros deal as a “win”.

• Dec. 10: Trump weighs in, slamming CNN as a “disgrace,” and demands the news network be sold in the deal. That same day, Paramount CEO David Ellison sent a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders offering $30 per share in cash, arguing Paramount and partner RedBird Capital were best positioned to create long-term value.

• Dec. 8: Paramount launches the $108 billion hostile bid, with Ellison saying Warner Bros never responded to Paramount’s offer.

• Dec. 5: Netflix announces a deal to buy Warner Bros.

• Dec. 1: Three bidders, Netflix, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), and Paramount, submit detailed offers, including details about their financing. Comcast proposes combining its NBCUniversal media company with Warner Bros. and HBO; Netflix improves its offer for the studios and HBO. Paramount increases its offer to $26.50 a share. Ellison’s company had submitted several offers before this.

• Nov. 20: The three bidders submit first-round offers for Warner Bros. Discovery.

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