Netflix has announced the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), including film and television studios, as well as HBO and HBO Max, for $82.7 billion. The two companies made the announcement jointly in a press release this Friday. Netflix's final offer was $27.75 per WBD share, compared to the $24 proposed by Paramount, which, along with Comcast, were the three parties interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. The transaction is expected to close following the announced separation of Discovery Global, the company focused on television, which will include CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery+, and free-to-air channels in Europe. However, their offers were only for a part of the company, excluding Discovery Global. Yesterday, Paramount filed an open letter alleging bias in the process, claiming it favored Netflix. The acquisition of WBD by Netflix means the merger of two of the leading audiovisual entertainment companies. The catalog will include HBO productions such as 'The Big Bang Theory', 'The Sopranos', or 'Game of Thrones', and films such as 'The Wizard of Oz' and from the DC universe, which will join Netflix series like 'Wednesday', 'Money Heist', 'Bridgerton', or 'Adolescence'. 'Our mission has always been to entertain the world,' stated Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, in the press release. This deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026. Offers for all or part of WBD began in October with a Paramount offer of $27 per share for 100% of the company. Netflix and Comcast then joined the bids, which had two rounds, the last one on December 1st. 'By combining Warner Bros.' incredible collection of series and films—from timeless classics like 'Casablanca' and 'Citizen Kane' to modern classics like the Harry Potter saga—with titles that define culture like 'Stranger Things', 'KPop Demon Hunters', and 'The Squid Game'. Meanwhile, the President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, stated that 'today's announcement brings together two of the world's most important narrative companies to bring the entertainment people love to even more people'.
