Warner Bros. Discovery is now calling Paramount Skydance’s revised bid for the entire company “superior,” triggering a four-day period for Netflix to match its rival bidder.
After reviewing Paramount’s latest offer, the WBD Board of Directors determined it constitutes a “company superior proposal” for now. If Netflix ups its bid to equal Paramount’s $31-per-share offer in the next four business days, WBD will no longer consider Paramount’s proposal superior. Both competing bids are all-cash.
In a Thursday press release, WBD said it notified Netflix of its determination. The merger agreement between the two entertainment companies remains in effect. Moreover, the WBD board still recommends its deal with Netflix as anticipated.
But in the event “the PSKY proposal continues to constitute a ‘Company Superior Proposal,’” the board said, “WBD would be entitled to terminate the Netflix merger agreement.”
It remains to be seen whether Netflix matches Paramount in the coming days, although the likelihood is very high.
The development in the Hollywood bidding war came as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos lobbied federal officials in his Thursday visit to the White House. The executive was reportedly set to meet with Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and Justice Department Antitrust Division officials.
The department is reviewing both rival bids while investigating whether Netflix’s stand-alone business constitutes a monopoly. Sarandos has denied the existence of a monopolization investigation.
His visit came two days after Paramount CEO David Ellison attended the State of the Union address based on an invitation from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
It is unclear whether Sarandos met with President Donald Trump on Thursday to discuss the merger, although he had done so in late November 2025 before the deal was announced.
Last weekend, Trump pressured Netflix to fire former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice from its board over comments she made about punishing companies that kowtow to Trump. If she was not removed from the board, Trump vowed that the streaming service would “pay the consequences.”
Sarandos brushed off the president’s criticism and the possibility of federal intervention in the merger.
“This is a business deal,” he told the BBC this week. “It’s not a political deal. This deal is run by the Department of Justice in the U.S. and regulators throughout Europe and around the world.”
Netflix is facing much public scrutiny for its ties to the Democratic Party, whether that be Rice’s board membership or the company’s yearslong production deal with the Obamas.
Sarandos and his wife, Nicole Avant, have associated themselves with the presidential couple by donating nearly $700,000 to then-President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. The chief executive has also given money to Democratic candidates as recently as 2022, according to a review of public records.
NETFLIX CEO TO VISIT WHITE HOUSE AFTER TRUMP DEMANDED TERMINATION OF BOARD MEMBER
During an antitrust hearing earlier this month, Netflix’s affiliation with Democrats was brought up in several lines of questioning from Republican senators as they questioned the merger.
Warner Bros. Discovery is preparing to hold a March 20 meeting for shareholders to vote on the studio’s merger agreement with Netflix. Paramount is actively campaigning for shareholder votes.