Paramount Faces Regulatory Hurdle After Winning Warner Bros Battle

Paramount's merger with Warner Bros would unite two major Hollywood studios, two streaming platforms and two news operations.

(Reuters) - Paramount Skydance emerged as the winner in a months-long battle to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, after streaming giant Netflix on Thursday refused to raise its bid for the storied Hollywood studio.

“We’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” Netflix said in a statement.

Netflix confirmed to Reuters that it was walking away from bidding for Warner Bros Discovery. The Warner Bros board still has to terminate the Netflix deal and adopt Paramount Skydance’s offer.

“Once our board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders,” Warner CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. “We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”

Paramount maintained its dogged pursuit of Warner Bros, launching a hostile campaign to wrest the prize from Netflix. It managed to lure Warner Bros back to the bargaining table last week, with the potential of an increased cash offer for the company.