The news comes after Paramount sweetened its offer yet again last week. (The ninth(?) time is the charm, we guess.) The CBS News owner is still offering $30 per share for Warner Bros. Discovery, but has added a 25¢ per share “ticking fee,” which would be paid to shareholders for each quarter its transaction has not closed beyond December 31, 2026, which Bloomberg notes is a point toward Paramount’s confidence that it could get regulatory approval for the deal. Deadline estimates this would equal about $650 million per quarter, and Bloomberg also reports that WBD had been getting some pressure from some shareholders to at least consider Paramount’s offer. Paramount would also pay Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee, which was a previous sticking point in the negotiations.
The regulatory approval process could also end up being a headache for Netflix, especially, compared to Paramount, which seems be (to at least occasionally) on good terms with the Trump regime. Earlier this month, an anti-trust hearing about the prospective sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix was more or less derailed thanks to accusations of Netflix being “overwhelmingly woke.” Those talking points came from a MAGA, Project 2025, and Heritage Foundation-linked group and were delivered by Republican senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.