Paramount skydance CEO,David Ellison, puts a whopping $108B hostile bid to takeover Warner Bros. Discovery

David Ellison has moved first and loudest. The Paramount Skydance CEO launched an all-cash hostile tender valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at about $108.4 billion, taking a $30-per-share bid directly to shareholders after weeks of failed outreach to WBD leadership and a newly announced Netflix deal for WBD’s studio and streaming assets.

As per a Reuters report dated December 8, 2025, the offer is designed to “scupper” Netflix’s pact and create a combined media player with scale across film, TV, and streaming.

Paramount frames the play as faster to clear and richer than Netflix’s ~$82.7 billion enterprise-value agreement for select assets, while emphasizing that its financing is fully backstopped. WBD says it ran “a completely fair and transparent process” and is reviewing the bid without changing its Netflix recommendation. Netflix, for its part, calls the hostile move “entirely expected” and expresses confidence it will close. WBD has 10 days to respond. The tender window runs 20 business days.

What Paramount Skydance is actually offering and why this is “hostile”?

Paramount Skydance is offering $30 in cash for every WBD share. That headline converts to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion when WBD’s debt is included. The rival Netflix agreement covers only the studio and streaming businesses at a mixed cash-and-stock $27.75 per share and $82.7 billion enterprise value. As per a Reuters report dated December 8, 2025, Paramount’s tender bypasses WBD’s board after what it describes in SEC filings as months of slow or no engagement, which is why it is characterized as “hostile.”

Financing, per public materials and coverage, is backstopped by the Ellison family with participation from Affinity Partners and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and large bank commitments. As per MarketScreener reprint of a Reuters report dated December 8, 2025, David Ellison said,

“We’re here to fight for value for our shareholders and for WBD shareholders.”

The same report notes that “Warner Bros has 10 days to respond” and that,

“Paramount’s tender offer will be open for 20 business days.”

As per the PR Newswire release dated December 8, 2025, the company describes the offer as “all-cash” at $30.00 per share and sets an initial expiration of January 8, 2026, unless extended. Readers should distinguish equity value language you may see elsewhere ($78 billion for the whole company at $30 per share) from this enterprise-value framing, which includes debt.

How David Ellison got here: failed talks, a Netflix pact, then a shareholder end-run

The sequence is fast and public. As per a Reuters report dated December 8, 2025, Netflix won board approval on Friday for its bid to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming assets after a weeks-long auction.

Paramount had earlier raised its own proposal to $30 per share for the entire company, but faced questions over financing and process. Paramount’s later securities filing lays out text messages and calls from David Ellison to David Zaslav on December 3-4 and alleges delayed “clean team” access. As per MarketScreener reprint of a Reuters report dated December 8, 2025, Ellison texted Zaslav,

“I heard you on all your concerns and believe we have addressed them in our new proposal. Please give me a call back,”

and added,

“It would be the honor of a lifetime to be your partner.”

When WBD proceeded with Netflix, David Ellison pivoted to a tender. The financing stack was adjusted to drop Tencent, and participating outside investors agreed to waive governance rights, a structure Paramount says puts CFIUS concerns at ease. Paramount is expected to assume about $30 billion of WBD debt under its proposal, versus roughly $10 billion under Netflix’s assets deal.

What everyone’s saying: on-the-record statements and the friction points

As per a PR Newswire release dated December 8, 2025, David Ellison stated,

“WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.”

As per the MarketScreener report, a WBD spokesperson said,

“The board and the company have for months run a completely fair and transparent process with each of the bidders, and the bids speak for themselves.”

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos remarked that the hostile bid was “entirely expected,” and reiterated Netflix’s confidence in closing. WBD’s board favored Netflix’s binding offer and had concerns about Paramount’s financing in the final hours before the tender move.

Procedurally, WBD has 10 calendar days to respond to the tender with a recommendation statement. The tender is set to run 20 business days and can be extended. Expect parallel lobbying on Capitol Hill and at the DOJ, continuing public messaging from David Ellison and rivals, and close scrutiny of debt assumptions and backstop language that underpin “certainty.”

Stay tuned for more updates.