Paramount Skydance has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a landmark $110bn deal, marking one of the largest mergers in media history.
The all-cash offer of $31 per share is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Netflix, which had previously planned to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming assets for $82.7bn, withdrew from the process. As part of the revised agreement, Paramount paid a $2.8bn termination fee to Netflix to secure the transaction.
Netflix co-chief CEO Ted Sarandos said: “We had a very tight range that we’d be willing to pay and made that offer back when we closed this deal. “We hadn’t moved much from that, except for moving to cash, which served to move the deal faster. I’m happy where we got in and happy where we got out. We knew right away, when we got the notice on Thursday that they had a superior offer and the details of that deal. We knew exactly what we were going to do.”
The deal still requires regulatory clearance in the US and Europe, and several US states have indicated they may challenge the merger on antitrust grounds. The combined company is targeting $6bn in cost savings through technological integration, particularly the consolidation of streaming platforms, and broader corporate efficiencies. Significant layoffs are anticipated due to overlapping business units.
The transaction is backed by $47bn in equity financing from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, alongside $54bn in debt financing provided by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo.
The merger will unite major brands under one roof, including Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Showtime and Paramount+, alongside Warner Bros Pictures, HBO, CNN, Discovery Channel and HGTV. Following confirmation of the agreement, shares in both Paramount and Netflix showed signs of recovery in the market.
