Warner, Netflix withdraws increased offer: path cleared for Paramount

New York (USA), 27 February (LaPresse/AP) – Netflix has refused to increase its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming business, in a surprising move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over the legendary Hollywood giant. After Warner’s board of directors announced that Paramount’s bid, owned by Skydance, was higher than the deal previously agreed with Netflix, the streaming giant said that, at the price requested for the acquisition of Warner, a deal ‘was no longer financially attractive.’ Unlike Netflix’s offer, Paramount wants all of Warner’s assets, including networks such as CNN and Discovery. This would put CNN under the same roof as CBS and Paramount, and would unite two of the last five remaining film studios in Hollywood.