Get the popcorn: Media deal plot twist as Paramount crashes Netflix party

Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), throwing the film titan’s recent deal with streaming giant Netflix into uncertainty.

On Monday, Paramount said its all-cash tender offer of $30 (£22.50) per share provides shareholders $18bn more than Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer.

Paramount chief executive David Ellison argued the deal is “a more certain and quicker path to completion”, and that WBD’s board is pursuing “an inferior proposal” by favouring Netflix.

He added: “We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theatre industry.”

The tender offer is directed straight at shareho

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