Netflix has revised its $82.7bn (£61.5bn) offer for Warner Bros Discovery into an all-cash deal, aiming to speed up approval and counter a hostile takeover attempt by Paramount Skydance.
The new proposal keeps the valuation at $27.75 per share but removes shares from the structure, giving WBD investors more certainty and potentially allowing a vote as early as April. Netflix said the WBD board continues to unanimously back the deal.
Under the agreement, WBD shareholders would also receive shares in a spun-off global networks business, including CNN and Discovery Channel, which Netflix is not acquiring.
Paramount is pursuing a larger $108.4bn bid and has sought to block the Netflix deal through legal action and a planned proxy fight, but a Delaware judge has already rejected one of its lawsuits.
If WBD walks away from Netflix’s offer, it would owe a $2.8bn breakup fee and face billions more in related costs.
