Warner Bros rebuffs Paramount's initial takeover approach, citing low offer

Paramount, led by David Ellison, has several options, including boosting its bid, going directly to shareholders or finding additional backing through a financial partner

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By Michelle F. Davis, Thomas Buckley and Lucas Shaw

 

Warner Bros Discovery Inc. has rebuffed Paramount Skydance Corp.’s initial takeover approach for being too low, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

Warner Bros. rejected Paramount’s offer of around $20 per share in recent weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

 

Paramount, led by David Ellison, has several options in its pursuit of Warner Bros., including boosting its bid, going directly to shareholders or finding additional backing through a financial partner, they added.  

 

CNBC’s David Faber reported last week that the companies are in talks about a deal but are in disagreement over price and that Paramount could make its offer public to shareholders to pressure Warner Bros. 

 

Representatives for Paramount and Warner Bros. declined to comment. 

 

Warner Bros. shares closed at $17.10 on Friday, giving the company a market value of $42.3 billion. Paramount shares were at $17 a share, valuing it at $18.6 billion.

 

Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, took over Paramount, the parent of CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and the namesake movie studio, in August after completing an $8 billion merger with his film production company Skydance Media. 

 

Paramount has been in talks with alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management about backing its bid, Bloomberg News reported last week. 

 

Ellison said at the Bloomberg Screentime conference last week that he couldn’t comment on Warner Bros. specifically, but he did make the case for more industry mergers. 

 

Warner Bros. plans to split into two businesses, one focused on cable TV and the other on streaming and studios, in a deal expected to be completed next year. 

 

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav believes he can get a hefty premium for his streaming and studios businesses once they’re separated from the debt-laden cable networks, Bloomberg News previously reported. To clinch a deal, Ellison will have to convince him that he isn’t leaving money on the table by selling before that happens.