According to people familiar with the situation, Warner Bros. Discovery's board may make a decision on Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion buyout offer as early as Wednesday.
The board is expected to advise shareholders to vote against the transaction. Recommitting to Netflix's buyout offer would be the most recent development in the competition for assets, which includes Warner Bros. legendary film and television studio and its vast collection of films and television shows, which includes modern favorites like "Harry Potter" and "Friends," as well as classics like "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane," HBO, and the streaming service HBO Max.
A representative at Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment. By securing a vast content collection that has long been a target for purchase, the victor will have a significant advantage in the streaming wars.
Earlier this month, Netflix won the $27 cash-and-stock bid for Warner Bros.' non-cable assets. David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, then went straight to Warner Bros. shareholders and made an all-cash bid for the entire firm at $30 a share.
Paramount has claimed in regulatory documents that its offer is better than Netflix's and would have an easier time getting regulatory clearance.
The Ellison family and RedBird Capital have contributed $41 billion in additional equity to the offer, and Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo have committed $54 billion in debt.
According to Bloomberg, one of Paramount's funding partners, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, is pulling out of the fight. Reuters' request for comment was not immediately answered by Paramount or Affinity Partners.
