Paramount sues to reveal Warner Bros Discovery’s Netflix calculations
David Ellison has sent a letter to WBD shareholders in which he says "We are committed to seeing our tender offer through"
Paramount CEO David Ellison has fired another shot in his campaign to take over Warner Bros Discovery, launching legal action over rival Netflix’s bid and planning to stack the WBD board with sympathisers.
The new actions are outlined in a letter Ellison sent to WBD shareholders overnight, arguing the case for the superiority of Paramount’s offer and expressing puzzlement over WBD board’s refusal to engage.
The legal action appears to have fulfilled earlier warnings from the embattled WBD board that Paramount “is a litigious counterparty”. This was one of the few clear reasons given by WBD as to why it has not engaged with what appears to be a numerically bigger offer from Paramount (US$30/share).
Comparing the Netflix bid – which WBD has accepted but which it could reject for a fee – with the Paramount bid is not simple. While Paramount proposes to buy the whole company, Netflix only wants Streaming & Studios – HBO, the WB studios, film and TV libraries etc – and not the Global Networks division (which includes unsexy free-to-air properties such as CNN and Discovery).
