Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guides
Guidance and tools
Shares
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks Stock plan guidance
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
Netflix makes mostly cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery - report
(Sharecast News) - Movie studio and broadcaster Warner Bros Discovery is reportedly sifting through a second round of bids, including a mostly cash offer from streaming giant Netflix, in an auction that could finish in the coming days or weeks.
Bankers for Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix worked over the long Thanksgiving weekend on improved offers for all or part of Warner Bros, news agency Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.
Paramount's offer, while largely backed by the family of Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison, includes debt financing from Apollo Global Management. Middle East funds were also contributing, the report stated.
The bids are binding, meaning Warner could green light a deal quickly if its goals are met, although another bid would be considered if the terms are attractive, the sources said.
Netflix, the streaming industry leader, is reportedly working on a bridge loan that totals tens of billions of dollars.
Last week, the producer of the Harry Potter franchise and Succession TV series asked bidders to submit improved offers by December 1 after receiving preliminary buyout bids from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix.
Warner rejected Paramount's mostly cash offer of nearly $24 a share for the company, valuing it at $60bn, and publicly announced it would evaluate strategic options for the studio.
The parent of HBO, CNN and its namesake film studio, officially put itself up for sale in October after receiving multiple unsolicited offers for all or part of the company. Paramount started the process with three offers for all of the company, including its cable TV networks.
Comcast and Netflix are interested only in the Warner studios and the HBO Max streaming service. Should one of their bids be accepted, Warner would continue with plans to spin off its cable channels as Discovery Global under plans put forward in June to separate its studio and streaming business from its traditional cable television networks.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
The spinoff could occur by the middle of next year.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Reports | Doing Business with Fidelity | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Staying secure | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing programme
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.
