Eight strikes and Paramount’s out. Wait—isn’t it supposed to be three strikes? Paramount CEO David Ellison apparently did not get the memo. Ellison received official word last week that his company’s takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery had been rejected for the eighth time—and it won’t be trying a ninth time, as Ellison has just filed suit against WBD in Delaware, seeking greater financial disclosure around its preference for Netflix’s bid.
It is becoming difficult not to wonder whether Ellison really should have called it quits after the third offer back in October—his last unsolicited, bungled bid before Warner CEO David Zaslav launched a bidding process for the storied studio company.
Since Zaslav put Warner up for sale, Paramount has continued to submit what it claims is not its “best and final offer,” despite multiple requests by Warner’s board to do exactly that. Getting a good deal is one thing, but continuously presenting a second-best offer diminishes credibility, not only with the target company but also with Wall Street. More importantly, as Netflix and Warner advance with the merger that resulted from Zaslav’s auction process, the delay makes it all the more costly and operationally difficult for Zaslav to renege on his binding agreement.
