Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav calls – Business News
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav informed rattled staffers that the company’s abrupt pivot to a Paramount Skydance tie-up felt “whiplash-y” — whereas insisting the media giant had no selection however to bulk up or risk getting steamrolled.
“For even us, the speed — it feels a little whiplash-y,” Zaslav stated during a Friday morning city corridor, including that executives have been nonetheless “getting our bearings.” His feedback have been first reported by Business Insider after the city corridor assembly audio was leaked.
Still, he struck an upbeat tone in regards to the blockbuster deal, telling workers, “Together, we can be a great company.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav informed rattled staffers that the company’s abrupt pivot to a Paramount Skydance tie-up felt “whiplash-y.” Getty Images to Warner Bros. Pictures
“It’s not easy, but we’re getting bigger, and we’re getting stronger,” Zaslav informed his prices on Friday.
Zaslav framed the transaction as existential, telling workers: “If Warner Bros. is going to survive, then we needed to be bigger, and we needed to be global.”
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The mogul warned that “some of these companies are getting so big that they can just run us over.”
He additionally sounded a word of warning, saying that “the deal may not close,” however added that “if it doesn’t close, we get $7 billion, and we get back to work.”
The remarks got here as Paramount Skydance emerged because the profitable bidder for WBD after Netflix declined to raise its $27.75-per-share offer.
The remarks got here as Paramount Skydance emerged because the profitable bidder for WBD after Netflix declined to raise its $27.75-per-share offer. Paramount CEO David Ellison is pictured. Getty Images
Paramount boosted its bid to $31 per share in money and agreed to a ticking charge and a $7 billion regulatory termination charge, setting up what may very well be a roughly $110 billion merger that now faces months of regulatory scrutiny within the US and overseas.
The $7 billion determine referenced by Zaslav in his feedback to workers on Friday is a huge regulatory termination charge Paramount agreed to pay if the merger is blocked on antitrust grounds — successfully a built-in insurance coverage coverage for WBD.
It cushions shareholders towards a failed deal and provides Zaslav leverage to argue that even in defeat, the company would stroll away with a multibillion-dollar money infusion moderately than empty-handed.
The California Post reported earlier this week that Paramount Skydance leapfrogged Netflix as the favourite to land WBD after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos did not sway a skeptical Trump administration to approve a proposed takeover by the streamer.
Sarandos met with Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House chief of workers Susie Wiles and Justice Department antitrust officers to attempt to persuade the administration to not oppose the deal on antitrust grounds, The Post reported.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos did not sway a skeptical Trump administration to approve a proposed takeover of WBD by the streamer. Getty Images
President Trump lashed out at Netflix earlier this month in a social media post after Susan Rice, a Netflix board member and high Democrat, warned that companies that “take a knee” to the Trump administration ought to anticipate to be “held accountable” if Dems return to energy.
The pivot caps a dramatic bidding struggle that started Dec. 5, when Netflix struck a $27.75-per-share deal to amass Warner Bros.’ studio and HBO belongings in a transaction valued at roughly $82.7 billion together with debt.
The settlement was later amended to an all-cash construction in January to hurry shareholder approval — underscoring how far alongside the Netflix deal was earlier than Paramount swooped in.
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Paramount, led by David Ellison, first countered with a $30-per-share bid for the complete company — together with its cable networks — earlier than sweetening the offer to $31 per share in money.
It additionally agreed to cowl the $2.8 billion breakup charge WBD would owe Netflix and layered in a ticking charge price 25 cents per share per quarter if the deal drags on, financial sweeteners that in the end persuaded WBD’s board to deem it succesful of changing into a “superior proposal.”
The proposed merger would create a mixed leisure giant with more than 200 million streaming subscribers throughout HBO Max, Discovery+, and Paramount+, however it could nonetheless path Netflix and YouTube in total TV share.
Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder and the daddy of David Ellison, is close to President Donald Trump. Getty Images
WBD ended 2025 with 131.6 million streaming subscribers and $29 billion in web debt, whereas Paramount+ had 78.9 million paid subscribers — highlighting each the dimensions ambition and the balance-sheet pressure behind Zaslav’s push to bulk up.
Netflix stated Thursday it could not sweeten its bid for WBD, declaring that whereas the tie-up “would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” matching Paramount Skydance’s increased offer no longer made financial sense.
A White House spokesperson informed reporters that the president has “great relationships with all parties in this potential transaction and remains neutral in this process with no preference” between Netflix and Paramount.
The California Post has sought remark from WBD, Paramount Skydance and the White House.
