Key Stats for Warner Bros. Discovery Stock
- Price Change for WBD stock: -2.40%
- $WBD Share Price as of Dec. 17: $28.21
- 52-Week High: $30
- $WBD Stock Price Target: $25.90
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What Happened?
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) stock has become the center of a high-stakes takeover battle. On Wednesday, the Warner Bros. Discovery board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount Skydance’s $30-per-share hostile bid and stick with Netflix’s “superior” proposal instead.
Paramount launched its all-cash tender offer last week, taking the bid directly to shareholders after WBD agreed to merge with Netflix earlier this month.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison argues his $108.4 billion deal is better than Netflix’s and would face fewer regulatory hurdles.
He’s also made clear the $30-per-share bid isn’t the company’s “best and final” offer, leaving the door open for a higher bid.
But the WBD board isn’t buying it—literally. Board chair Samuel Di Piazza said in a statement that Paramount’s offer has “inadequate value with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders.”
He told CNBC the Netflix deal was “not a hard choice” given its certainty and structure.
Netflix’s cash-and-stock transaction values WBD at $27.75 per share ($23.25 cash plus $4.50 in Netflix stock), with a total enterprise value of roughly $82.7 billion including debt.
Under that deal, Netflix would acquire Warner Bros.’ streaming and studio assets—including HBO, HBO Max, and the theatrical film division—while WBD’s cable networks would be spun out into a separate entity called Discovery Global in Q3 2026.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About WBD Stock
The bidding war for WBD stock highlights deep concerns about financing certainty. The WBD board flagged that Paramount’s bid includes more than $40 billion in financing separate from the Ellison family, despite claims that the family fully backstops the deal.
That financing includes roughly $24 billion from Gulf state sovereign wealth funds. On Tuesday, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners withdrew from the Paramount bid, raising more questions about the funding structure.
Di Piazza told CNBC he would have appreciated more direct involvement from billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.
“We were not confident that one of the richest people in the world would be there at closing,” Di Piazza said. “Doing a deal is great; closing a deal is better.”
Netflix, by contrast, has a $400 billion market cap and committed debt financing from leading institutions.
There are no contingencies, no foreign sovereign wealth funds, and no stock collateral or personal loans.
Netflix has also posted a massive $5.8 billion reverse termination fee—the largest cash regulatory fee in any public M&A transaction—signaling confidence it can win regulatory approval.
Both deals will face Department of Justice scrutiny, but Netflix argues the entertainment market remains highly competitive.
In the U.S., Netflix holds just 8% of TV viewing share, trailing YouTube (12.9%) and Disney (11.4%). A combined Netflix-HBO/HBO Max would bump that to only 9.2%, still below both YouTube and Disney. If Paramount acquired WBD, its share would jump to 14%.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the board’s recommendation sends “a pretty clear message” and vowed to fight in court if regulators challenge the deal. “We have a good case, and we believe that we should defend that case and make that case strongly,” Peters told CNBC.
Mario Gabelli, a WBD shareholder and CEO of GAMCO Investors, told CNBC he’s keeping his options open. While he previously leaned toward the Paramount offer, “the most important part is to keep it in play” and hope for more back-and-forth bidding.
Paramount said Wednesday it doesn’t plan to increase its offer yet. Still, Ellison wrote that he’s “been encouraged by the feedback we have received from WBD shareholders who clearly understand the benefits of our offer.”
For now, WBD stock remains caught between two competing visions: Paramount’s all-cash bid with financing questions, or Netflix’s cash-and-stock deal with a stronger balance sheet backing and a massive regulatory breakup fee.
Shareholders will ultimately decide which path offers better value and certainty.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
