Paramount extends tender offer for Warner Bros shares

Paramount (Image: Bloomberg)

Paramount Skydance Corp. again extended its tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. shares, giving investors more time to weigh its proposal to acquire the rival media company.

The new offer expires Feb. 20, the parent of CBS, MTV and other entertainment businesses said Thursday in a proxy filing. Paramount has been trying to acquire Warner Bros. since September.

The company first launched its tender offer on Dec. 8, three days after Netflix Inc. announced a deal to buy Warner Bros.’ studios and streaming businesses. The company previously extended the offer for another month on Dec. 22.

David Ellison, Paramount’s chief executive officer, said he will challenge the Netflix deal at the next meeting of Warner Bros. shareholders. Warner Bros. is planning a special meeting to approve the Netflix deal by April, giving Paramount a limited window to convince stockholders that its hostile offer is better.

Paramount has been actively campaigning against the Netflix proposal, meeting with shareholders and regulators, arguing that its $30-a-share cash offer is financially superior and a better outcome for consumers. The Warner Bros. board has continued to back the Netflix deal, saying it represents a better overall value for shareholders.

Netflix said Tuesday it reached an amended, all-cash agreement to buy Warner Bros.’s streaming and studio business, in a revision aimed at expediting closure of the deal and simplifying payment to shareholders, which previously included a stock component.