LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a leading global media and entertainment company, on Wednesday rejected Paramount Skydance's amended tender offer, saying that it remains inferior to Netflix merger agreement across numerous key areas.
WBD said in a statement that its board of directors "has unanimously determined that Paramount Skydance's tender offer, as amended on December 22, 2025, is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders."
The board unanimously reiterated its recommendation in support of the Netflix combination and recommended that WBD shareholders reject Paramount Skydance's offer.
"Paramount's offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed," said Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., chair of the WBD board of directors.
"Our binding agreement with Netflix will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty, without the significant risks and costs Paramount's offer would impose on our shareholders," he added.
Netflix, the world's largest streaming company by subscriber count, announced on Dec. 5 an approximately 82.7 billion U.S. dollars agreement to acquire WBD, including the company's film and television studios.
The acquisition also includes Home Box Office, the premium U.S. television network and streaming service, along with HBO Max and its prestige series such as "Game of Thrones," "The Sopranos," and "The White Lotus."
However, the hostile bid from Paramount has placed the merger at the center of a widening national debate. Paramount announced on Dec. 8 that it would offer 30 U.S. dollars per share for WBD, dismissing Netflix's proposal as offering "inferior and uncertain value."
