Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount’s $77.9B takeover bid, calling it inadequate, and urged shareholders to back Netflix’s $72B offer instead.

Warner Bros. Discovery called Paramount's $77.9 billion hostile takeover offer insufficient and urged shareholders to back Netflix's $72 billion offer instead. Warner Bros. would be acquired by Netflix. TV and movie studios, as well as HBO Max, with separate divisions for news and cable. With an irreversible $40.4 billion equity guarantee from Larry Ellison of Oracle, Paramount's plan would acquire the entire business, including CNN and Discovery. Warner Bros. criticized Paramount's plan for having too much debt, inadequate shareholder protections, and operational limitations. U.S. antitrust authorities are examining both transactions. as well as global regulators. The deadline for shareholder decision-making is January 21.