Netflix-Warner Bros. Deal Far From Done: Paramount’s Hostile Bid and Trump’s Concerns, Know the Timeline

The Netflix-Warner Bros. saga is far from over. On Friday, the streaming giant and the production house released a joint statement confirming Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros., provided it gets regulatory approval. However, as per a report, Paramount Skydance has now thrown its hat in the ring with a hostile all-cash takeover bid for the entire company, including the divisions that Netflix excluded. Separately, US President Donald Trump has reportedly also expressed concerns over Netflix's acquisition attempt, adding more hurdles for the streaming company.

The Warner Bros. Discovery Acquisition Timeline

According to a CNN report, Paramount CEO David Ellison has now approached Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders with an all-cash offer to buy the entire company. Interestingly, Paramount is the reason the entertainment conglomerate considered selling its business in the first place. And perhaps that is the reason the company chose Netflix over Paramount for the acquisition.

It all began in June, when Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to separate its operations into two publicly traded companies by mid-2026. One of them would be the “streaming and studios” division with Warner Bros. Entertainment (WBEI), HBO, and others, and the second would be the “global networks” TV division comprising CNN, TNT, and more.

However, in September, Paramount initiated a hostile takeover bid by reportedly submitting an unsolicited offer to acquire the entire company before the planned split. For the unaware, a hostile takeover bid is when one company makes an unsolicited bid to purchase another company's shares. The company behind the Mission: Impossible franchise made as many as six separate bids to the company board, but all of them were rejected.

However, due to increasing debt and the lucrative offer, Warner Bros might have found it difficult to shut down the purchase plans entirely. As a result, in October 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it was considering strategic alternatives and opened an official bidding process for its assets. Netflix and Comcast were among the interested parties, and as per an official announcement from last week, Netflix's bid was selected, making it an unexpected winner.

Paramount Reportedly Makes an All-Cash Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

As per the report, Netflix offered $23.25 (roughly Rs. 2,091) per share in cash for Warner Bros. and HBO, and $4.50 (roughly Rs. 405) per share in stock. However, the streaming giant did not want to purchase the company's cable assets. In comparison, Paramount's final offer is said to be $30 (roughly Rs. 2,700) per share in an all-cash deal for the entire company. In total, Netflix was reportedly offering $82.7 billion (roughly Rs. 7.4 lakh crore), whereas Paramount was offering $108.4 billion (roughly Rs. 9.7 lakh crore).

Netflix reportedly argues that, with the stock deal and the spinoff of WBD's cable assets, the overall deal will be more valuable to shareholders. However, on paper, Paramount's deal is more lucrative. Ellison is reportedly banking on that to entice the shareholders to accept the company's offer instead.

“We are offering shareholders $17.6 billion more cash than the deal they currently have signed up with Netflix. And we believe when they see what is currently in our offer, then that's what they'll vote for,” Ellison told CNBC in an interview.

However, this does not mean Paramount's bid will be accepted. There are ways to get out of a hostile takeover bid, but the company might not have to explore those measures if shareholders themselves are convinced that Netflix's deal is better in the long term.

Trump's Involvement Could Make the Netflix Acquisition Trickier

Netflix's problems do not end with Paramount's hostile takeover bid. Even if everything goes well, it will still have to convince regulators that no anticompetitive laws are being broken. While that in itself could be difficult to achieve, since Netflix and HBO streaming services combined control a major stake in the market, an additional hurdle has also appeared in the form of Trump.

According to a BBC report, the US President expressed concerns over Netflix's deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's movie studio and HBO streaming networks at an event in Washington, DC, last week. Trump reportedly said that the streaming giant already has a “very big market share” and that combining forces with HBO could be a “problem.”

He is said to have also added that he would be personally involved in deciding if the deal can be approved or not. Notably, Ellison's father, Larry Ellison, is said to be a close ally of Trump.

Netflix's ticket to get out of regulatory trouble will reportedly depend on how it frames the market. According to experts who spoke with the BBC, if the US Justice Department's competition division only looks into the streaming business, then questions of anticompetitive behaviour can be raised. However, if they look into a broader definition and include cable, broadcast TV, and YouTube as competitors, then Netflix does not appear to be a dominant force in the market, the experts reportedly added.