The gloves are off, and David Ellison’s Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros., calling Netflix ‘s $82.7 billion deal for key parts of the Hollywood giant an “inferior proposal” and touting $18 billion more in cash in his company’s offer for all of the WB empire, rather than “just” its studios and streaming assets.

While the 12-18 months of regulatory reviews eyed by Netflix for its Warner Bros. takeover signal the challenges it could face in Washington, Wall Street analysts say the streaming giant’s coming out on top puts pressure on the bidders that lost out, namely Paramount and Comcast/NBCUniversal.

The gloves are off, and David Ellison’s Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros., calling Netflix ‘s $82.7 billion deal for key parts of the

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