Netflix executives seek to calm fears over multibillion-dollar Warner Bros. deal
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The co-chief executives of Netflix issued a letter Monday expressing confidence in their ability to close a proposed $72-billion acquisition of Warner Bros.Discovery while trying to allay fears the deal will hurt the entertainment industry.The joint note filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos maintained that combining the streaming behemoth with the historic movie and TV studios and its HBO Max service “will offer consumers more choice and value, allow the creative community to reach even more audiences with our combined distribution, and fuel our long-term growth.”The communication follows the Dec.
8 hostile bid from Paramount, which has upped the ante to $78 billion or $30 a share.Paramount is also seeking to acquire WBD’s cable assets including CNN and Discovery Networks.
Warner Bros.Discovery has a massive library of popular and classic films along with durable TV series such as “Friends,” that would fortify Paramount’s own streaming platform Paramount+.Paramount is going directly to shareholders in order to also put pressure on WBD.
Paramount executives have accused the company of not engaging meaningfully with multiple proposals it put forth over the course of 12 weeks.The Hollywood community — especially among guild members — is not enthralled with the Netflix deal, fearing it will reduce the number of movies and TV shows created, and eliminate jobs.Netflix shares, which closed Monday at $93.77, have dropped 15% in the last month amid Wall Street’s worries about the viability of the company’s bid for Warner Bros.Discovery.
Hollywood Inc.The massive deal could mean higher subscription prices, fewer buyers for producers and maybe another merger down the road.“We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends,” Michele Mulroney, president of the Writers Guild of America West, said last week.
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