David Ellison kicks in a few billion more as he makes his 9th bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

"Paramount just adjusted its all-cash offer for all of WBD, though it didn't raise its topline bid from $30 per share. WBD turned down Paramount's previous offers and is selling its streaming and studio assets, including HBO, to Netflix for $27.75 per share in cash. (Unlike Paramount's bid, the Netflix deal doesn't include WBD's cable channels, like HGTV and TNT.) Ellison's company told WBD's board of directors on Tuesday morning that it had made the following changes to its offer:"

"Adding a so-called "ticking fee" that will pay WBD shareholders $0.25 per share, or about $650 million, every quarter that its bid hasn't closed, starting in January 2027 Paying other costs involved with taking its offer, like a $2.8 billion breakup to Netflix and a possible $1.5 billion debt refinancing cost Paramount also reiterated that the $43.6 billion in equity it's pledging in its $108 billion offer is fully backstopped by the Ellison family."

"Ellison's father, Larry, is one of the richest people in the world after cofounding tech giant Oracle in the late 1970s, and has also been a major supporter of President Donald Trump. Ellison's revamped offer, which would give WBD shareholders more money every quarter if the transaction doesn't close by January 2027, helps "underscore confidence in the speed and certainty of its regulatory pathway," Paramount said. While the Ellisons have rapport with Trump, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has built a relationship with the president as well."

Paramount revised its $30-per-share all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery without increasing the topline price. The revised offer adds a ticking fee that would pay shareholders $0.25 per share each quarter the deal remains unclosed starting January 2027. Paramount offered to cover a $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix and up to $1.5 billion in debt refinancing costs. The Ellison family fully backstops $43.6 billion of the $108 billion financing. Warner Bros. Discovery has an existing agreement to sell streaming and studio assets, including HBO, to Netflix for $27.75 per share.

Read at Business Insider