Netflix has reportedly withdrawn from the bidding for Warner Bros., leaving Paramount Pictures poised to secure the deal.
On Thursday, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters released a statement to open up about their decision to share that the deal is “no longer financially attractive” and that it “was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” the co-CEOs said.
“Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process,” they added.
Sarandos and Peters mentioned, “We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery praised Netflix as a great partner but said the company looks forward to the Paramount merger.
“We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said before Netflix's decision.
Sarandos and Peters also mentioned that they will continue to spend cash into content.
