Paramount Skydance sues Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix deal

Los Angeles [US], January 12 : Paramount Skydance has sued Warner Bros. Discovery, seeking to disclose financial details of WBD's USD 83 billion deal with streaming giant Netflix.

As per Variety, David Ellison's Paramount on Monday also announced plans to nominate its own slate of directors "who, in accordance with their fiduciary duties, will exercise WBD's right under the Netflix Agreement to engage on Paramount's offer and enter into a transaction with Paramount."

"WBD has failed to include any disclosure about how it valued the Global Networks stub equity, how it valued the overall Netflix transaction, how the purchase price reduction for debt works in the Netflix transaction, or even what the basis is for its 'risk adjustment' of our USD 30 per share all-cash offer," Paramount chairman and CEO David Ellison wrote in an open letter to WBD shareholders.

Paramount on Monday filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court to ask the court "to simply direct WBD to provide this information so that WBD shareholders have what they need to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to tender their shares into our offer," Ellison wrote.

This comes a month after Warner Bros. struck a deal with Netflix in December to have the streamer acquire its TV and movie studios for USD 83 billion.

Ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery's 2026 shareholder meeting, Paramount will propose an amendment to WBD's bylaws to require WBD shareholder approval for "any separation of Global Networks." If WBD calls a special meeting ahead of its annual meeting to vote on the Netflix agreement, Paramount "will solicit proxies against such approval," according to David Ellison's open letter.

Under Netflix's agreement with WBD, the streaming giant would pay $27.75/share for Warner Bros.'s films and TV studios businesses, HBO and HBO Max, and games division. That transaction would be completed after WBD's spin-off of Discovery Global in the third quarter of 2026, which is set to include CNN, TBS, HGTV, Food Network, and Discovery+, according to Variety.

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