“The board unanimously determined that Paramount’s latest offer is still inferior to our agreement with Netflix in several key areas,” said Warner Bros. Discovery Chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. in a press release.
In Paramount's latest bid, which was submitted on December 22, the company offered a total of $108.4 billion for the business. In a press release, Warner Bros. Discovery said it saw an elevated risk that Paramount would not be able to complete the deal.
Warner Bros. Discovery also pointed out that the deal would obligate it to pay Netflix a termination fee of $2.8 billion.
In early December, Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix announced that Netflix would buy the business in a deal valued at approximately $82.7 billion. In a separate press release, Netflix welcomed the announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery's board.
Warner Bros. Discovery's board of directors has previously recommended that the owners reject Paramount's bid, citing that the Netflix bid was better in terms of Warner Bros. Discovery's studio operations and the HBO Max streaming service, which are also included in the assets.
