Netflix just walked away from the biggest entertainment deal in years. The streaming giant dropped its $83 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max after Paramount swooped in with a higher offer. In a statement Thursday, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said they're "declining to match" the new bid, calling it financially unattractive at the elevated price. The stunning reversal reshapes the streaming wars and leaves Warner Bros. Discovery's fate in Paramount's hands.
Netflix just blinked in the biggest bidding war Hollywood's seen in years. The streaming pioneer announced Thursday it's walking away from its $83 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery after Paramount came back with a higher offer that Netflix won't match.
"The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval," co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in the announcement. "However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive."
The reversal is a shock to an industry that's been bracing for massive consolidation. Netflix had been positioning itself to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery's vast content library - including HBO, CNN, and the storied Warner Bros. studio - along with the HBO Max streaming platform. The move would have instantly made Netflix the undisputed king of streaming content, combining its 280 million global subscribers with Warner's premium franchises like Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Game of Thrones.
But Paramount, itself recently merged with Skydance Media, apparently saw the same value and decided to pay more for it. While neither Netflix nor Paramount disclosed the exact figures, the fact that Netflix walked suggests Paramount's bid pushed well beyond the $83 billion threshold into territory where the math just doesn't work for shareholders.
