Paramount follows my play book on Warner Bros

I'd like to offer my condolences to the entire Netflix family. It's not easy being run over by the Dark Lord.

Paramount Amends Bid for Warner Discovery With New Ellison Guarantee

Warner earlier recommended that shareholders reject Paramount’s $30-per-share bid for all of the company

By Lauren Thomas, WSJ

Updated Dec. 22, 2025 8:18 am ET

Paramount said its offer remained superior to that of Netflix. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Paramount amended its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery WBD 0.58%increase; green up pointing triangle, with billionaire Larry Ellison agreeing to personally guarantee $40.4 billion of equity financing for the deal and publish records related to the family trust that backstops the deal.

Paramount previously made a hostile all-cash tender offer of $77.9 billion, or $30 a share, for all of Warner, including cable channels such as CNN, TNT and Food Network.

Warner earlier recommended shareholders reject Paramount’s bid, saying it believed Netflix’s proposal for its studios and HBO Max streaming service was still superior. Netflix’s deal for the studio and streaming assets was $72 billion in cash and stock, or $27.75 per share.

Warner’s rejection had focused on what it had called an “illusory” offer, raising concerns about the credibility of the equity being offered by Paramount. It had focused on the structure of the Ellison family’s commitment to funding the deal, and called for Ellison to provide a more enforceable personal commitment.

Paramount said Monday that its offer remained superior to Netflix’s and said that Ellison had agreed to provide an “irrevocable personal guarantee” on the $40.4 billion for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.

It also increased the fee it would pay if the deal was blocked by regulators, matching Netflix’s unusually high $5.8 billion offer.

—Updates to follow as news develops.