World media big Netflix’s Chief Govt Officer (CEO) Greg Peters rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108 billion bid to amass Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), calling out that the provide being backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who is about to fund $40.4 billion in fairness financing, reported the information portal Monetary Instances (FT).
Netflix’s CEO stated that with out Larry Ellison’s monetary backing by way of unbiased financing, there may be allegedly no probability that Paramount will have the ability to pull off the funding for the acquisition spherical.
Mint reported earlier that Larry Ellison has agreed to personally fund $40.4 billion in fairness financing to help Paramount Skydance’s all-cash provide for the potential Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. The Oracle co-founder is the daddy of David Ellison, who can be the CEO of Paramount.
“With out Larry Ellison independently financing this factor, there’s no probability in hell Paramount would ever have the ability to pull this off,” Peters informed the information portal.
The chief additionally known as Paramount’s provide “fairly loopy”, citing the rising money owed of the rival and its must finance its $30-per-share provide.
“Paramount already is saddled with numerous debt,” he added, describing the extra leverage wanted to finance its $30-per-share provide as “fairly loopy”.
He additionally claimed {that a} “very small” variety of Warner Bros. shareholders have been in help of Paramount’s hostile buyout provide for your entire firm, in line with the information portal’s report.
Board rejects Paramount provide
Mint reported earlier on 7 January 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of administrators rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion provide for the acquisition, citing considerations concerning the buyout plans and likewise urged the shareholders to reject the identical provide.
In its submitting, the corporate stated that Paramount’s provide stays ‘insufficient, notably given the inadequate worth it will present.’ The board additionally claimed that there’s a “lack of certainty” within the firm’s potential to fulfil the provide, creating danger and prices for the shareholders.
“The board unanimously decided that the Paramount’s newest provide stays inferior to our merger settlement with Netflix throughout a number of key areas,” Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., Chairperson of Warner Bros. Discovery board, informed the shareholders.
Take care of Netflix
On 20 January 2026, SEC filings confirmed that Netflix revised the construction of the potential acquisition deal into an all-cash association in an effort to simplify the transaction construction.
The transaction continues to be valued at $27.75 per share of Warner Bros. Discovery shares, unchanged from the earlier transaction construction. Nevertheless, the one change has been {that a} deal which was beforehand set to be a mixture of money and fairness will now solely be an all-cash settlement.
In an interview with the information portal FT, Netflix CEO Greg Peters stated the corporate is anticipating to win the backing of the shareholders, including that Paramount’s provide “doesn’t go the sniff check.”
Because the world awaits shareholders’ choice in April 2026, Netflix is in search of to win over any wavering Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. The CEO additionally stated that the revised provide issued earlier this month supplies “larger deal certainty”, which is partly funded by $55 billion of debt and likewise reportedly supplies a snapshot in Netflix’s sturdy stability sheet for the potential all-cash deal.
