Paramount Skydance increased its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) from $30 per share to $31 per share, WBD said today. Amid a competing offer from Netflix for WBD’s movie studios and streaming businesses, WBD said that Paramount’s new bid “could reasonably be expected to lead to a ‘Company Superior Proposal.’”
Under its revamped offer, Paramount would also pay the $7 billion regulatory termination fee that would arise should a Paramount-WBD merger fail to close due to antitrust regulation.
The company, owned by David Ellison, also said it would pay $0.25 per share for every quarter that the deal doesn’t close, starting on September 30, rather than the previous start date of December 31.
Paramount previously agreed to pay the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD would be subject to if it canceled its merger deal with Netflix.
Netflix has offered $27.75 per share for a smaller part of WBD’s overall business. Netflix is looking to pay all-cash for WBD’s film studios, intellectual property, HBO, and streaming services, including HBO Max, but not any of WBD’s other cable channels.
