Our newfound age of Hollywood megamergers is entering a strange new chapter: Netflix has entered exclusive talks to begin the process of acquiring Warner Bros.’ studios, setting the stage for a deal that would radically overhaul the entertainment industry as we know it.
Deadline reports that after a day of high drama that saw rival bidder Paramount—itself the recent subject of a politically charged takeover and merger that has set Hollywood all aflutter after its $8 billion acquisition by Skydance was approved by the Trump administration—accuse Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of creating a sales process that was biased towards Netflix’s bid for the studio’s assets. Paramount had aggressively pursued Warner Bros.’ interest in a sale, in the wake of its own merger’s completion and Warner Bros. Discovery’s prior decision to split back into two separate companies just three years after its own massive merger.
According to the trade, Netflix offered approximately $28 a share to purchase Warner Bros.’ studio assets as well as its streaming platform HBO Max, compared to Paramount’s bid for the entirety of WBD.
Such a deal would typically garner major federal pushback over antitrust concerns, given that Netflix, already a dominant player in the streaming platform, would not just be gaining access to Warner Bros.’ studios and their stable of intellectual properties (including, of course, the likes of DC Comics, Game of Thrones, and much more) but also direct ownership of one of its rival platforms in the streaming space in the form of HBO Max. But given the Trump administration’s laissez-faire approach to antitrust issues as of late—while Netflix may lack the personal relationship Paramount owner David Ellison has with the U.S. President, Netflix executives like Ted Sarandos have been trying to woo Trump since his election victory late last year—the typical hurdles of such a deal may not be as insurmountable as they once might have been.
Should Netflix successfully acquire Warner Bros., the deal would make the streamer one of the most potent forces in Hollywood. Long seen as something of an outsider to the theatrical world—not for a lack of trying to have its output recognized on par with other Hollywood studios, in terms of both theatrical access and awards season recognition—a Netflix-owned Warner Bros. wouldn’t just give the streamer an extra online platform and a swathe of new IP to own but also an already well-established theatrical distribution outlet, not just for Warner projects but future Netflix ones as well.
The streamer had previously gestured that, should it succeed in the bidding race for Warner Bros., it would commit to maintaining the latter’s contracts for theatrical distribution, rather than simply shifting everything online. But things are still in flux, and plans can change—whatever happens, however, Hollywood as we’ve known it for generations will never be the same.
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