When it comes to the sale of Warner Bros., a battle is unfolding on two fronts as Netflix has quietly emerged as the frontrunner to acquire major assets from the company.
First, Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino reports that Trump’s DOJ antitrust chief is preparing to launch a “sweeping multi-year investigation” into Netflix’s dominance and alleged monopoly over streaming. Officials appear to be “unmoved” by Netflix’s insistence that its recent lobbying efforts regarding WB do not violate antitrust law.
Meanwhile, Paramount/Skydance—whose three bids have already been rejected by WB—has sent a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav expressing “grave concerns” about what it calls the unfairness of the WBD sales process. Attorneys for Paramount/Skydance argue that the Warner Bros. Discovery board has “embarked on a myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder (Netflix).”
The Warner Bros. Discovery board is currently reviewing second-round bids submitted on December 1: Paramount and Skydance (seeking to acquire the entire company in an all-cash deal) and Netflix and Comcast (which are bidding specifically for Warner Bros.’ streaming and studio divisions).
Paramount’s lawyers also cited Gasparino’s earlier reporting that the WB board had “really warmed” to Netflix for several reasons, including the strong personal rapport between Zaslav and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. They are threatening to go "hostile," and appeal directly to WBD shareholders to approve its bid over Netflix because, they claim, it's the only one that can pass regulatory review by Trump.
In short, the WBD board is now sifting through a new stack of offers—Netflix’s “mostly cash” offer to acquire the Film and TV divisions, Paramount/Skydance fighting to buy everything outright, and Skydance uniquely pushing for a full-scale, all-cash takeover.
The clash between Netflix’s rising momentum and Paramount/Skydance’s mounting objections underscores just how volatile and consequential this sale has become. It’s a pivotal fight for the future of the industry and given the potential headaches Warner Bros. and Netflix could face from Trump’s DOJ if a deal moves forward, it will be interesting to see which way this one ultimately goes.