Late last year, Netflix struck a deal with Warner Bros. to buy most of the company’s assets for $82 billion. Now, Netflix has opted out of the deal rather than match the higher offer made by Paramount. It’s Warner Bros. for Paramount. Discovery paves way for new owner pending stockholder and regulatory approvals.
For the better part of two months, Warner Bros. refused to engage with Paramount, leading the latter to file a lawsuit against the rival studio. Earlier this month, Netflix announced that Warner Bros. was given a week to reopen negotiations with Paramount. Warner Bros.’s board later decided that Paramount’s superior offer was the better deal, and Netflix declined to bid.
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our agreement will strengthen the entertainment industry and preserve production jobs in America,” Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter ). But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.
Continue reading at GameSpot
