As far as we know, Warner Bros. still fully intends to go through with Netflix’s purchase offer. This isn’t new news, but it bears repeating, given that Paramount is moving as if it is the company that will ultimately purchase Warner Bros. Discovery. The latest instance of this behavior happened this morning, as Paramount passed a second, 10-day regulatory waiting period in response to a Department of Justice request for information. According to Paramount, via Deadline, making it through the waiting period indicates that “there is no statutory impediment in the U.S. to closing.”
That’s all well and good, but there is no deal in hand that is ready to be approved. As Deadline points out, it’s rather unusual to move forward with this step without one. But Paramount has been adamant that it wants to purchase WBD, despite the latter company’s repeated protestations that it’s just not that into the idea. However, this week it seemed that Paramount was making some headway, with WBD agreeing to at least consider the Ellison-owned company’s latest $30-per-share cash offer (with some other goodies thrown in). Even so, the WBD board told shareholders to stick with the Netflix offer even as it considers Paramount’s latest. The shareholder vote to approve the Netflix deal is scheduled for March 20.
Netflix, meanwhile, hasn’t cleared this same regulatory hurdle. Per Deadline, it’s also in the process of responding to the DOJ’s second request for information before it undergoes a 30-day waiting period. Apparently, Netflix being subject to a longer waiting period is fairly normal as its offer is not all-cash as Paramount’s is. However, it definitely at least looks like a fortunate coincidence for the various forces that don’t want the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal to go through for totally legitimate reasons. Regardless, the size of either potential deal would require approval from regulators around the world, so this is merely one step toward our more conglomerated future.
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