Warner Bros. Discovery Reopens Talks With Paramount Skydance as Netflix Bid Looms
Warner Bros. Discovery Reopens Talks With Paramount Skydance as Netflix Bid Looms
Warner Bros. Discovery restarts talks with Paramount Skydance on a full buyout, while Netflix’s $83B offer remains in play and a March 20 vote looms.
Warner Bros. Discovery said on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, that it has reopened talks with Paramount Skydance on its buyout offer, giving the company a one-week window to beat Netflix’s bid. The discussions, set to run through February 23, are designed to give Paramount Skydance a chance to present its best and final offer. The board continues to indicate a preference for the Netflix merger, and a special shareholders meeting to vote on the Netflix deal is scheduled for March 20.
Paramount Skydance is pursuing a full acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery for about $108 billion, while Netflix has offered $83 billion for the streaming and studio businesses. If the Netflix plan goes through, Warner Bros. Discovery’s television properties, including CNN and Discovery channels, would be carved into a separately run company called Discovery Global. Paramount argues its offer avoids the regulatory hurdles that could slow a Netflix deal in the U.S. and Europe, partly because it focuses on a broader combination.
During the talks, Warner Bros. Discovery said it would discuss any deficiencies that remain unresolved and clarify certain terms of Paramount Skydance’s proposed merger agreement. Paramount has signaled it is willing to pay a ticking fee—25 cents per share per quarter—for every quarter the deal remains unclosed beyond December 31, 2026, a mechanism designed to incentivize speed. The funding for Paramount Skydance’s bid is largely provided by Larry Ellison, and the company argues its plan would face lighter regulatory scrutiny than Netflix’s multi-asset merger.
With Netflix’s valuation intact, investors will watch whether Paramount can produce a superior offer that satisfies shareholders and clears regulators in time for a closing before the ticking deadline, or whether Netflix’s bid ultimately prevails in its current form. The looming March 20 vote adds a clear milestone to a process that could reshape the future of streaming, entertainment production, and control over a vast slate of media brands.
