Netflix has upgraded its $82.7bn (£61.5bn) takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery by switching to an all-cash offer, aiming to speed up approval and block a hostile bid from Paramount Skydance.
The revised deal keeps the valuation at $27.75 per share but removes shares from the structure, giving WBD investors more certainty and potentially allowing a shareholder vote as early as April. Netflix said the board of WBD continues to unanimously support the offer.
Under the agreement, WBD shareholders would also receive stock in a spun-off global networks business, including CNN and Discovery Channel, which Netflix is not acquiring.
Paramount is pursuing a larger $108.4bn hostile takeover and has sought to challenge the Netflix deal through legal action and a potential proxy fight, though a Delaware judge has already dismissed one lawsuit.
Netflix would gain control of key assets such as Warner Bros studios and HBO, while WBD faces a $2.8bn breakup fee if it walks away from the Netflix agreement.
