Paramount Asks Warner Bros. Voters to Reject Netflix Bid

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 22, 2026 at 15:17  |  4:22  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Caroline Hyde — Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech

Summary

Paramount Skydance extended its tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, but only about 7% of WBD shareholders have tendered since January 21, leading to a new April deadline. Netflix is competing with an all-cash offer plus cable assets valued up to about $33 per share, while Paramount may need to bid $32-$34 to be taken seriously. The discussion covers Paramount's leverage, Netflix's cash firepower and advertising strength, WBD's cable asset value, and YouTube as a key winner in media consolidation.

  • Paramount extended its tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery to April.
  • Only about 7% of WBD shareholders have tendered since January 21.
  • Bloomberg Intelligence says Paramount may need to bid $32-$34 to be credible.
  • Netflix's all-cash plus cable-asset offer is valued around $33 per share.
  • Paramount is described as stretched and leveraged, while Netflix is flush with cash.
  • Analysts see solid WBD/Netflix fundamentals, but Netflix shareholders worry about spending.
  • WBD cable networks, including CNN, could be spun off for additional value.
  • YouTube is called the current key winner in media consolidation.
Ideas
Caroline Hyde Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech 0:54
Competitive bids and asset value support WBD.
Warner Bros. Discovery is at the center of a competitive M&A battle. Netflix's all-cash offer plus WBD's cable assets is valued at up to about $33 per share, and Paramount would need to bid at least $32-$34 to be taken seriously. The board is unlikely to accept a lower Paramount bid, analysts see solid fundamentals and strong advertising revenue growth, David Zaslav has created substantial shareholder value, and the cable networks could be spun off for more than initially thought. This supports WBD equity.
WBD HIGH
Caroline Hyde Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech 1:17
Paramount bid looks stretched and leveraged.
Paramount Skydance's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is stretched and heavily leveraged, and it cannot easily increase the offer despite Larry Ellison's wealth. Its current proposal is not more appealing than Netflix's all-cash plus cable-asset deal; it would need to return with at least $32, maybe $34, to be taken seriously, and investors are not tendering until they see more money. This makes Paramount less attractive.
PSKY MED
Caroline Hyde Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech 1:44
Netflix has cash firepower and solid fundamentals.
Netflix has the cash firepower to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, with the increased offer adding only about 2.5x extra leverage, and it can pause buybacks if needed. Analysts highlight phenomenal advertising revenue growth and solid fundamentals. Although Netflix shares fell sharply after the deal announcement on investor concerns about spending, the company's balance sheet and ad business support the strategic move.
NFLX MED
Caroline Hyde Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Tech 4:16
YouTube is the key streaming winner.
In the ongoing media consolidation and streaming competition, YouTube is currently the key winner because it has dominant engagement and advertising scale, while other media companies struggle to compete with it.
YouTube MED
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This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 22, 2026, features Caroline Hyde discussing WBD, PSKY, NFLX, YouTube. 4 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Caroline Hyde  · Tickers: WBD, PSKY, NFLX, YouTube