Warner Bros. and Paramount agree to a $110 billion deal

According to an audio clip of a corporate global conference that Reuters analyzed, Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal signed Friday morning.

“Netflix had the legal right to match PSKY’s offer. As everyone knows, they ultimately decided not to. That led to the signing of an agreement with PSKY this morning. So that’s the current situation,” said Bruce Campbell, Warner Bros.’ chief revenue and strategy officer, at the meeting.

The deal, which includes approximately $29 billion in debt, is one of the largest media reorganizations in Hollywood history and will create one of the world’s largest film studios, allowing Paramount to leverage Warner’s intellectual property.

It will also enable Paramount to bolster its streaming efforts, with a potential merger of HBO Max and Paramount+, allowing it to gain market share and compete with the leader, Netflix.

The agreement ends a bidding war after Netflix refused to match Paramount’s final offer of $31 per share, which Warner Bros. considered superior to the streaming pioneer’s $27.75 per share offer.