New York, Dec 6 Netflix has announced it is buying Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) in a deal valued at about $82.7 billion to create a media behemoth that combines streaming and movie and entertainment production. However, the merger will need the approval of US government anti-trust regulators because of the size and span of the two companies in the entertainment field.
“This acquisition brings together two pioneering entertainment businesses, combining Netflix’s innovation, global reach and best-in-class streaming service with Warner Bros’ century-long legacy of world-class storytelling”, Netflix said late on Friday, announcing the plan for the acquisition.
WBD CEO David Zaslav said, “
Both media multinationals have footprints in India.
Netflix said the deal would be completed after WBD spins off its cable properties like the news channel CNN, TNT, and Discovery.
Netflix beat out Comcast and Paramount, which had expressed interest in WBD, to seal the deal offering $27.75 per share.
Netflix has about 12.4 million subscribers in India, its seventh-largest base, according to World Population Review.
WBD movies have been a staple of the movie circuit in India.
In forays into Bollywood, it has distributed films like Saas Bahu Sensex, and announced in June that it was teaming with Bhanushali Studios Limited (BSL) and JOAT Films in a five-film deal to develop Indian adaptations of its movies.
Netflix will have access to WBD’s storied, century-old vault that includes its movie classics like Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Bonnie and Clyde, Chariots of Fire, and others like The Wizard of Oz, that it acquired from MGM.
WBD will also bring HBO Max and DC Studios to Netflix.
Netflix began as a DVD rental company operating through the postal service and morphed into an entertainment streaming service, taking advantage of the digital infrastructure.
It also began producing movies in English and several other languages.
Dhoom Dhaam is among movies it has distributed.
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