One of the world’s most popular streaming businesses, Netflix, will own one of the most iconic film studios: Warner Bros.
Netflix announced Friday morning that it will buy Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. at a price of $27.75 per share, or around $82.7 billion.
The deal merges Netflix with another popular streamer, HBO Max. Netflix’s acquisition narrows the competition field and bolsters the company against Disney’s streaming portfolio.
Netflix competed with Paramount Inc. and Comcast to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount expressed concerns that the bidding process wasn’t fair and that Warner Bros. Discovery favored Netflix to be its new owner.
Netflix denied the allegation, saying it “robustly” complied with its fiduciary obligations.
“Please be assured that the WBD Board attends to its fiduciary obligations with the utmost care, and that they have fully and robustly complied with them and will continue to do so,” the company wrote.
With the acquisition by Netflix, HBO franchises such as The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wizard of Oz, and the DC Universe will be added to Netflix.
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BIDDING WAR HEATS UP AS MEDIA TITANS BATTLE FOR COMPANY TAKEOVER
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in a press release.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” he added.