"Anyone who lived through the 1989 takeover that resulted in the landmark lawsuit Paramount Communications v. Time battle hears an echo. Back then, Time Inc. was trying to merge with Warner Communications when Paramount tried to blow up the deal with a rich hostile bid for Time itself, triggering a bidding war and a landmark Delaware ruling on when, and how, boards can say no."
"Anthony Sabino, a veteran legal practitioner and professor at St. John's University in Queens, N.Y., who teaches those cases, called today's fight "a sequel, not a reboot," with Paramount, which is competing with Netflix to buy WBD, once again in the eye of a takeover hurricane. He pointed out that Paramount also fronted the 1994 Paramount v. QVC clash-also ultimately decided in Delaware-where Barry Diller's QVC was rebuffed in favor of Sumner Redstone's Viacomin a bid to buy Paramount, cementing the modernempire that has since mutated into Paramount Global and, as of 2024, Paramount Skydance."
The Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war revives mid-century takeover dynamics and legal doctrines, drawing Paramount back into a central role. Vintage doctrines from Revlon to the "Cuban beer" defense have resurfaced as Netflix and Paramount compete for WBD. The 1989 Paramount–Time confrontation is echoed by the current conflict: Time Inc.'s attempted merger with Warner Communications provoked a hostile Paramount bid and a landmark Delaware decision on board discretion. Time Warner later grew into a media powerhouse before the ill-fated 2000 AOL tie-up. The 1994 Paramount v. QVC clash similarly shaped the modern Paramount empire now evolving into Paramount Skydance.
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