Paramount wants to buy Warner Bros. What to know about hostile takeover bids

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Paramount set the stage this week for a high-stakes battle with Netflix when it launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros.Discovery.Their offer: Paramount would pay cash to acquire all of Warner Bros.

Discovery shares for $30 apiece, for a $78 billion takeover bid..The proposal involves acquiring all of Warner Bros.

Discovery, including cable channels such as CNN and its HBO Max streaming service.Paramount’s bid came after Netflix announced a deal for $72 billion — or $27.75 a share — for a big chunk of the company: Warner Bros.film and television studios, which hold the rights to Batman, Bugs Bunny and Harry Potter, the expansive lot in Burbank and HBO and HBO Max.

Going straight to the shareholders, Paramount said its offer was “superior” and would “create a stronger Hollywood.” Hollywood Inc.Paramount said it offered $30 a share in the final hours of last week’s auction.

‘We never heard back,’ says Paramount Chair David Ellison.“It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry,” said David Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Paramount, in a statement.“We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction.”Here’s what you need to know about the blockbuster fight:Paramount made what’s known as a “tender offer,” publicly proposing to buy a company’s shares directly from its shareholders at a premium price for a limited time.

Acquiring Warner Bros.Discovery shares would allow Paramount to gain control of its acquisition target.In this case, Paramount noted its all-cash offer of $30 per share represented a 139% premium to Warner Bros.

Discovery stock price of $12.54 as of September 10.Netflix’s proposal, Paramount noted, involves a mix of c...