Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $31 a share in $110B deal

Paramount Skydance agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $31.00 a share, in a transaction that values the deal at roughly $110 billion and concludes an intense bidding war after Netflix declined to match the offer. The companies confirmed a definitive agreement on Feb. 27, 2026, with both boards reported to have approved the deal unanimously and a closing expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and a WBD shareholder vote expected in early spring.

The $31 per share cash consideration implies an equity valuation in the neighborhood of $77 billion while the total enterprise value, after accounting for WBD’s debt, is widely reported at about $110 billion. Paramount committed to cover a $2.8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix when that streamer walked away, and the agreement includes a $7 billion regulatory termination fee should the transaction be blocked on regulatory grounds. Paramount’s initial hostile bid in December at $30 a share was later increased to $31, a sequence that prompted the WBD board to determine the higher offer was superior.

Paramount’s chairman and chief executive David Ellison framed the bid as a combination of storied studios and scale, saying, "Our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company." Company materials cited in the bidding outlined projections for a combined business with roughly $70 billion in annual revenue, about $16 billion in EBITDA, $10 billion in cash flow, and some 207 million streaming subscribers.

The assets at stake span major news, entertainment and sports brands. The deal would fold Warner Bros. film studios, HBO and HBO Max, CNN and a wide portfolio of cable networks and sports rights into a single owner alongside Paramount’s studios and platforms. Netflix’s proposal had not included WBD’s cable assets; Netflix said it declined to match Paramount’s bid because, "at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive."

Market reaction was immediate. Shares of Paramount jumped more than 20 percent on the announcement while Netflix shares rose nearly 14 percent, reflecting investor assessments of the expense and strategic fit of the bidding battle.

Beyond balance sheets, the deal spotlights public interest consequences. Consolidation of news brands such as CNN and major entertainment pipelines heightens questions about where Americans will receive reliable health and science information, how local and niche reporting will be funded, and whether newsroom job losses or programming cuts could reduce coverage of public health, environmental hazards and marginalized communities. Cinema operators have warned that combining studios could reduce theatrical releases and cost jobs. Regulators, lawmakers and state authorities are expected to scrutinize those competitive and civic impacts closely.

Paramount’s backers in earlier bids reportedly included the Ellison family, RedBird Capital and commitments from several sovereign wealth funds, supported by large debt packages. Two people with direct knowledge said European antitrust review is expected to be relatively straightforward and any required divestments likely minor, though broader scrutiny in Washington and U.S. states is anticipated.

The companies say the merger "unlocks innovative and compelling storytelling opportunities across the combined company's best-in-class film and television studios, streaming and linear platforms." Regulators, shareholders and public interest groups will now weigh whether that promise outweighs the risks to competition, journalism and the public information ecosystem.