"Entirely expected": Netflix responds to Paramount's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros.
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters and co-CEO Ted Sarandos speaking at UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York on Dec. 8 in New York. Photo: Kerry Flynn/Axios
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said Monday that the company is "super confident" in finalizing its deal to buy studio and streaming assets of Warner Bros. Discovery for nearly $83 billion.
Why it matters: The remarks follow Paramount Skydance launching a hostile takeover bid to buy WBD's assets, after Netflix had bested it and Comcast last week.
What they're saying: "Today's move was entirely expected," Sarandos said at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York when asked about Paramount's bid.
- "We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal," Sarandos said. "We think it's great for our shareholders. We think it's great for consumers. We think it's a great way to create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry."
- "We're super confident we're going to get it across the line of finish," he added.
Follow the money: Paramount's new bid is an all-cash, $30-per-share offer and is backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, along with sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
- Comcast's bid was "light" on cash and instead provided a "significant chunk of equity in a combined entertainment company," president Mike Cavanagh said earlier Monday at the same UBS conference.
The big picture: Consolidation in Hollywood has rattled the creative community, who see a deal as eliminating options for pitching movies and shows and further shrinking the job market.
- Comcast's Cavanagh said Monday they "welcome the consolidation" to help companies solidify their long-term strategies and drive more value.
Catch up quick: WBD opened itself up to an auction in October, ahead of its plan to split the company into two businesses, saying it had received "unsolicited interest" from multiple parties.
- Paramount, Netflix and Comcast submitted bids for WBD's studios and streaming assets in the multi-round process. Last Friday, it was announced Netflix's offer won, paying WBD $23.25 cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock for each WBD share, at an enterprise value of nearly $83 billion.
- Paramount had questioned the "fairness and adequacy" of the process in a letter to WBD's board last week.
What to watch: Netflix's confidence extends to the regulatory review.
- "At the end of the day, it's pro-consumer, delivering more value to those folks. Pro-creator, we're going to increase our content spend and deliver more," co-CEO Greg Peters said.
- Asked about President Trump's recent comment on the deal, Sarandos said, "I think that the President's interests in this are the same as ours, which is to create and protect jobs."
- "In the offer that Paramount was talking about today ... [there's] $6 billion of synergies. Where do you think synergies come from? Cutting jobs. So we're not cutting jobs. We're making jobs," he added.
- Sarandos acknowledged he and Trump have spoken repeatedly since the election about the entertainment industry's challenges.
Go deeper: What to know about hostile takeovers, as Paramount challenges Netflix bid
