The company Paramount Skydance has taken a step forward in the battle for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, offering an amount that may surpass the competitor Netflix, according to information from the BBC.
As it became known on Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that the new offer from Paramount, valuing the share at $31, could lead to a more favorable agreement than the current one with Netflix.
Previously, Paramount had offered $30 per share in its attempts to acquire Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. noted that it will continue discussions with Paramount before making a final decision on the possibility of abandoning the deal with Netflix, concluded in December.
So far, Netflix has not commented on the new circumstances, but it has four days to make a counteroffer.
In an interview with the BBC, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos did not comment on whether the company plans to continue the fight for Warner Bros. "I don't want to make assumptions," he said before Paramount's new offer emerged. "We are satisfied with the current terms and have always approached deals with caution," he added.
Since the start of the campaign to acquire Warner Bros. last year, Paramount, backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David, has actively sought a deal opportunity.
Despite this, Warner Bros. previously rejected Paramount's offers, and in December it was announced that an agreement had been reached with Netflix for $27.75 per share, totaling about $82 billion including debt.
Warner Bros. also reported that it will spin off part of its business, including traditional television channels and CNN, into an independent company.
After the rejection, Paramount improved its initial offer, proposing $30 per share for a full acquisition of Warner Bros., but now this offer has become the first to officially exceed the previous amount.
Thus, Warner Bros. confirmed that Paramount is willing to pay $31 per share in cash, with additional payments in case of delays in completing the deal.
Additionally, Paramount agreed to pay $7 billion in case the deal falls through and cover $2.8 billion that Warner Bros. owes to Netflix if the agreement does not materialize.
The Warner Bros. board of directors has not yet made a final decision on further actions.
Lawmakers have expressed concerns about both offers, citing potential monopolistic practices and their impact on the entertainment industry as a whole.
At hearings in Washington earlier this month, Sarandos was questioned about potential price increases and the future of theaters, which also drew Democrats' attention to the Ellison family's ties to the Trump administration.
