Skydance-owned Paramount again extended the tender offer window in its hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, giving Warner stockholders until Feb. 20 to tender shares at $30 apiece in cash.
The offer keeps the same $30 price, which Paramount says values the transaction at a total enterprise value of over $108 billion including debt. The extension marks the second time Paramount has lengthened the window since it challenged Warner’s merger agreement with Netflix last month.
Paramount said that as of late Wednesday, more than 168.5 million Warner shares had been tendered in support of its offer. The company said that figure remains well below the 50% stake it would need to effectively gain control of Warner, which has about 2.48 billion shares outstanding in series A common stock.
Warner pushed back in a statement emailed Thursday. “Once again, Paramount continues to make the same offer our Board has repeatedly and unanimously rejected in favor of a superior merger agreement with Netflix,” Warner said, adding that it is “clear our shareholders agree,” as more than 93% have so far rejected “Paramount’s inferior scheme.”
Netflix’s deal, which it agreed to in December, would buy Warner’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion. The companies have described it as an all-cash transaction that would speed the path to a shareholder vote by April, and said that including debt its enterprise value is about $83 billion, or $27.75 per share.
Paramount, in contrast, has said its offer is better than Netflix’s and accused Warner leadership of not being transparent with stockholders. Paramount also claimed Warner’s board was “rushing to solicit shareholder approval” for the Netflix merger, warning that the deal could lead to a lower payout for shareholders if debt stemming from a previously announced spinoff of Warner’s networks business flows into the studio and streaming operations.
Beyond extending its offer, Paramount escalated by pursuing a proxy fight. The company said earlier this month it would nominate its own slate of directors to Warner’s board ahead of the next shareholder meeting, and on Thursday it filed preliminary materials to solicit proxies in opposition to the Netflix merger.
The competing bids reflect different visions for what Warner would become. Netflix’s proposal would cover only Warner’s studio and streaming business, including legacy TV and movie production and platforms such as HBO Max. Paramount’s bid, by contrast, would cover the full company, including its news and cable operations—an approach that would place outlets such as CNN under the same corporate roof as CBS.
The process could still be lengthy even if one bidder gains the upper hand. The companies’ fight is also expected to draw heavy antitrust scrutiny, with politics anticipated to play a role under President Donald Trump, who has made suggestions about his personal involvement in whether a deal will go through.
On Thursday, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix fell slightly, while shares of Paramount-Skydance rose nearly 3%.