Paramount has upped its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery with a fee for shareholders and a promise to pay a $2.8 billion termination fee.
Per a filing Tuesday, Paramount will continue to offer $30 a share to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, but will now add a $0.25 per share “ticking fee,” which it will pay to WBD shareholders for each quarter its transaction has not closed beyond December 31, 2026.
Additionally, the company said it will pay the $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix, which would be due if Warner Bros. ultimately rejects Netflix’s bid. Paramount said it will also “offer solutions” for Warner Bros. financing costs and obligations.
Paramount’s current offer includes an increased $43.6 billion of equity commitments from the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners and $54.0 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo. As of December, the offer includes a personal guarantee from Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, of $43.3 billion.
Paramount has also extended the expiration date of its tender offer to February 20.
The amended offer comes as Paramount has launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros., after the studio had accepted Netflix’s all-cash $72 billion offer, or $27.75 a share, for its studios and streaming business.
More to come.
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