Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount and Skydance launched a hostile $108.4 billion tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery aiming to upend Netflix’s roughly $83 billion agreement to acquire WBD’s streaming and studio assets while spinning off CNN and other cable channels; WBD’s board has 10 days to respond and has indicated it considers the Netflix bid superior on financial grounds. Paramount says WBD “never engaged meaningfully” with prior proposals and has secured at least $24 billion from outside financiers (including PIF, L’imad Holding, QIA and Affinity Partners), but both deals face heavy regulatory and political scrutiny over market concentration and the future of CNN.

After Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming businesses in a deal widely reported at roughly $72 billion (with some outlets citing higher figures) that would exclude WBD’s cable networks and follow a planned spin‑off of CNN/TNT/TBS, industry groups and regulators signaled intense scrutiny and markets reacted with WBD shares rising while Netflix and rivals slipped. Paramount Skydance then launched a hostile $30‑per‑share tender for WBD (~$74.4 billion) — including the cable assets Netflix’s deal omits — saying its offer is about $18 billion higher, could avoid a lengthy multi‑jurisdictional review, expires Jan. 8, 2026 unless extended, briefly boosted WBD and Paramount shares, and raised the prospect of a CNN–CBS combination amid political scrutiny.

At a White House appearance, former President Trump said any sale of Warner Bros. Discovery should include CNN — either sold with the company or separately — calling current CNN leadership "corrupt or incompetent" and saying he would "probably be involved" in ensuring it is sold. His comments heighten the stakes between competing bids (Netflix’s roughly $83 billion offer would exclude CNN while Paramount’s $108 billion hostile bid includes the cable networks and disclosed Gulf and private financing), as WBD’s board faces a short deadline and CNN staffers warn a spinoff with heavy debt could leave the network’s future "up for grabs."