A$154 billion deal: Paramount claims victory in Warner Bros Discovery bid | Television tonight

The Paramount/Warner Bros Discovery deal is worth a whopping A$154 billion.

The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and WBD shareholder approval.

Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount will pay US$31.0 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of WBD.

The merger opens up storytelling opportunities across the combined company’s top film and television studios, streaming and linear platforms.

The combined company will own a film library of more than 15,000 titles and thousands of hours of television programming with franchises including Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Star Trek And SpongeBob SquarePants.

“From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacies of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company. By bringing together these world-class studios, our complementary streaming platforms and the extraordinary talent behind them, we will create even more value for audiences, partners and shareholders – and we couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead,” said David Ellison, CEO of Paramount.

“I am very pleased with the outcome we have achieved for WBD shareholders and the entertainment industry. Our guiding principle throughout this process is to secure a transaction that maximizes the value of our iconic assets and our century-old studio, while providing as much certainty as possible for our investors. We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction,” said David Zaslav, CEO of WBD.

However, the Writers Guild of America is an organization opposed to the deal.

“The loss of competition would be a disaster for writers, consumers and the entire entertainment industry. This merger must be blocked,” the report said.

Cinema United, the trade body that represents movie theaters, also opposed Netflix-owned Warner Bros, fearing what it could mean for the future of movies. They noted that a combination of Paramount and Warner Bros would bring as much as 40 percent of the domestic box office into one studio each year.

“We have been clear from the beginning about our concerns surrounding the consolidation, and nothing that has happened in the last 36 hours has changed that,” Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of Cinema United, said in the statement.

“Studio consolidation has historically led to fewer films being made, and at this time there is no reason to believe the outcome will be different here. We continue to urge regulators to heed the lessons of the past.”

The US Department of Justice has already begun investigations, and other countries are expected to do so as well.

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav told employees it would likely take six to 12 months for the deal to close. The transaction will be closely watched in Britain and the European Union, although those jurisdictions are more likely to impose conditions than try to block it outright.

Netflix said Warner Bros. Discovery “notified Netflix that it had terminated the merger agreement in accordance with its terms in order to enter into an agreement and plan of merger with PSKY with respect to such corporate superiority proposal.”

In the termination, Netflix also said that Paramount had paid Skydance a $2.8 billion fee due to Netflix under the merger agreement it signed with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Source: Term, Variety, ABC