Warner Bros. shareholders expect higher offers to be made to the company amid the bid between Paramount Skydance and Netflix to take control of the studio, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday. The newspaper claims that Paramount CEO David Ellison met several Warner shareholders in New York on Tuesday. search for your “backup” and encourage them to express to the board of directors that Paramount’s offer is better than Netflix’s.
Last Monday, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid valued at around $108 billion to acquire Warner, defying a deal previously made by Netflix to take over the company for $82.7 billion, including debt. Paramount’s offer amounts to $30 per share in cashexceeding the 27.75 dollars offered by Netflix, which, for its part, declared itself “super confident” in the conclusion of the previously agreed agreement.
However, according to the WSJ, some participants at yesterday’s meeting considered it likely that Paramount would even raise its proposal, which would have sent Warner’s shares higher. They will advance by 5% during the day this Wednesday on Wall Street. Shares were trading around $30, the same level as Paramount’s tender offer.
“There is a good chance that a bidding war will break out”said Massimo Stabilini, fund manager at Burren Capital Advisors and Warner shareholder, according to the WSJ, which also notes that investors trust “a quick closure” of the operation. Other investors, such as Mario Gabelli, have indicated that they would be inclined to sell shares to Paramount, which could force Netflix to improve its offer, adds the media. Warner estimates that the true value of its shares is between $31 and $32, according to the WSJ, which also suggests that Paramount’s offer may not be the last.
However, the operation must pass approval from regulators. Paramount hopes to have fewer obstacles than Netflix due to the latter’s dominant position in the streaming industry. streamingalthough political figures such as Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren have also called Paramount’s offer a “a five-alarm antitrust fire”. The fight between the two giants has opened the door to greater concentration of companies in a sector already dominated in the United States by a handful of large groups bringing together cinema, media, television and streaming.
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