Paramount Skydance ups pressure on Warner Bros Discovery with improved takeover bid

Paramount Skydance has returned with an improved takeover proposal for Warner Bros Discovery, increasing the pressure on the group to reconsider a bid it has previously rejected and intensifying the contest for control of the company.

Under the updated terms, Paramount Skydance has put forward a cash offer of $31 per share along with additional fees, topping its earlier proposal of $30 a share. Warner Bros Discovery - which owns DC Studios, HBO and CNN - said the higher bid "could reasonably be expected to lead to a company superior proposal".

Netflix, which has been the preferred bidder and has already signed an agreement with WBD, recently raised its own proposal to $27.75 per share in cash. However, the two suitors have been pursuing different outcomes - with Netflix seeking to acquire only the production and streaming assets of WBD, while Paramount Skydance has been aiming to buy the entire company.

The latest offer from Paramount Skydance was submitted at the end of a one‑week extension granted by the WBD board with Netflix's consent. Netflix now has four days to improve its bid or withdraw from the process.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com