Overview
- Paramount proposed acquiring all outstanding Warner Bros. Discovery shares for $31 in cash per share, valuing the deal at roughly $111 billion.
- CEO David Ellison said Paramount+ would be merged with HBO Max into a single streaming service while the HBO brand continues to operate independently.
- Paramount plans to complete platform integration on a unified technology stack by mid‑year, with the transaction expected to close in Q3 2026 subject to regulatory review.
- The company said the combined direct‑to‑consumer footprint would exceed 200 million subscriptions, positioning the service to compete with the largest players.
- Netflix exited the auction on Feb. 26, with co‑CEO Ted Sarandos calling the move pre‑planned under bidding scenarios, criticizing Paramount’s debt‑heavy approach as likely to force about $16 billion in cuts and thousands of layoffs, and saying a DOJ review of Netflix had concluded.