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Paramount Sweetens Warner Pursuit With Cash Guarantees as Netflix Vote Nears

Warner’s board still backs the Netflix deal heading toward a shareholder vote targeted for April.

Overview

  • Paramount offered to assume the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner would owe Netflix if the selected Netflix deal is terminated.
  • The revised bid pledges an additional $0.25 per Warner share for each quarter until closing—about $650 million per quarter—and guarantees $1.5 billion in debt-restructuring costs.
  • Warner has so far rejected Paramount’s advances and plans an extraordinary shareholder meeting to vote on the Netflix transaction, which Netflix says should occur by April.
  • Netflix’s offer, reported at about $83 billion, targets Warner’s studio and streaming business with TV networks to be spun off, while Paramount’s roughly $108.4 billion proposal seeks the entire company including the channels.
  • Paramount has launched an aggressive outreach to shareholders and signals confidence in swift regulatory approval, pressing the board to consider what it argues is a superior offer under Delaware obligations.