Paramount’s $108 Billion All-Cash Bid Puts CNN’s Future in Political Crosshairs
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The future of Hollywood was thrown into chaos this morning as Paramount/Skydance CEO David Ellison launched a direct, hostile all-cash tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), directly challenging the company’s recent definitive agreement to sell its prized studio and streaming assets to Netflix.
At 9 a.m. Eastern, Paramount rolled out a public offer of $30 per share, sending WBD shares surging toward $28. This move, which values the entire WBD company at an estimated $108.4 billion, is a direct rebuke to WBD CEO David Zaslav and a board that Paramount believes has favored the $82.7 billion Netflix proposal.
The Hostile Playbook
Paramount’s bid is aggressive and designed to bypass management entirely, appealing straight to shareholders with a promise of superior value and certainty. The $30 per share is an all-cash offer for the entire WBD conglomerate—a stark contrast to Netflix’s $27.75 bid, which is a mix of cash and stock and would see the traditional cable networks spun off into a separate, debt-laden entity.
"We're really here to finish what we started," Ellison stated publicly, referencing his prior unsolicited bids that WBD management rebuffed. Paramount’s primary argument is twofold: it offers shareholders an estimated $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration, and it provides a much clearer, faster path to regulatory approval.
Paramount has accused Zaslav's team of running a "tainted" and "myopic" process, suggesting WBD management prioritized the "chemistry" with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos over their fiduciary duty to shareholders.
The high-stakes corporate battle has immediately drawn the attention of the White House. President Trump, despite his close ties to the Ellison family (whose financial backing, including through Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, is critical to the Paramount bid), provided a surprising twist this morning by blasting the company, declaring, "THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP."
Yet, the President’s regulatory skepticism remains focused on the Netflix deal. Trump announced that he would be "involved" in the decision, raising significant antitrust concerns over Netflix’s already dominant market share. The merger would combine the world’s leading streaming service with HBO Max, the number three player, a combination that Paramount argues is anti-competitive and risks a protracted, multi-jurisdictional legal battle—a risk underscored by Netflix's massive $5.8 billion breakup fee included in its signed agreement.
Ellison, on the other hand, argues that a Paramount takeover would strengthen Hollywood by preserving the theatrical ecosystem, a jab at Netflix’s historically streaming-first model.
Perhaps the most critical asset hanging in the balance is CNN. The outcome of this bidding war presents two drastically different futures for the storied news network:
The Netflix Scenario (Spin-Off): Under the current definitive Netflix agreement, CNN would anchor a new, standalone company called "Discovery Global," alongside cable networks like TNT Sports. CNN staffers reportedly felt "palpable relief" at this outcome, as it secures the network's editorial independence from being merged with CBS News (owned by Paramount/Skydance) and avoids potential interference from Paramount's politically charged editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. However, the challenge for CNN would be financial: the spin-off is a lean, traditional media entity in a rapidly declining cable landscape, leaving it to navigate its digital transition without the cash flow of a major studio.
The Paramount Scenario (Integration): If Paramount's hostile bid succeeds, it would acquire the entire WBD. This would likely result in the merging of CNN and CBS News, creating an enormous integrated news division. While this offers significant scale, the political implications are immense. Reports have surfaced that the Ellisons, seeking a smooth regulatory path, discussed potential programming shifts—including the axing of certain CNN hosts disliked by the Trump administration—with senior White House officials. For CNN staffers, this path represents a major political and editorial risk, potentially trading financial stability for a loss of journalistic autonomy.
As WBD shareholders now face the choice between a signed, but regulatory-risky, offer and a higher, all-cash hostile bid with profound political baggage, the next few weeks will determine not just the shape of global entertainment, but the very independence of one of the world’s most influential news organizations.
