By George Glover

Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, days after Warner struck a deal with streamer Netflix.

Less than an hour later, President Trump criticized Paramount, which owns CBS slamming CBS show 60 Minutes for airing an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said the president had betrayed his voters. It wasn't clear if that was a reaction to Paramount's bid, or a coincidence.

"THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has been Paramount CEO since a merger with Skydance Media closed in August.

Paramount said in a statement that its all-cash, $30-a-share offer for all of Warner Discovery was a better deal than Netflix's for shareholders and more likely to be cleared by regulators.

Paramount added that its offer would give Warner shareholders $18 billion more in cash compared with Netflix's bid.

Paramount stock jumped 3.2% to $13.80. Netflix dropped 3.2% and Warner Discovery surged 6.5%. The S&P 500 was flat.

Paramount's counter offer marks the latest plot twist in a takeover saga that is likely to upend the Hollywood pecking order.

The CBS parent was widely believed to be the front-runner to buy Warner Bros. before Friday, when Netflix said it had struck a deal that would give the streaming giant control of Warner's film and television studios, streaming service HBO Max.

Netflix's offer values Warner at $27.75 a share: $23.25 in cash and the remainder paid in Netflix stock, implying an enterprise value of around $82.7 billion.

Paramount's all-cash offer of $30 per share equates to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion. The company said the deal would be backstopped by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and debt fully committed by Bank of America, Citi, and Apollo.

"We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares," Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement.

Doubts about the Netflix-Warner deal emerged over the weekend, with President Donald Trump warning on Sunday that the acquisition " could be a problem" as it would give the streamer "a very big market share."

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 08, 2025 10:22 ET (15:22 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.