"While most Americans were watching football and feasting on turkey, Netflix executives and advisers hunkered down to finalize a binding offer and a $59 billion bridge loan from banks, one of the biggest of its kind. That gave the streaming company the ammunition to make a mostly cash-and-stock bid that helped it prevail over Comcast and David Ellison's Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter."
"The resulting $72 billion deal, announced Friday, is set to bring about a seismic shift in the entertainment business - if it can survive intense regulatory scrutiny and a potential fight from Paramount. This account of Netflix's surprise victory in the biggest M&A auction of the year is based on interviews with half a dozen people involved in negotiations. They asked not to be identified because the details are confidential."
"The sales process had kicked off with several unsolicited bids from Paramount Skydance, itself a newly formed company after a merger this year orchestrated by Ellison. He's now the studio's chief executive officer and controlling shareholder, with backing from his father, Oracle Corp. billionaire Larry Ellison. Paramount's early move gave it a head start in the bidding process weeks before other would-be buyers got access to information."
Netflix assembled a binding offer and secured a $59 billion bridge loan around Thanksgiving to pursue Warner Bros. Discovery, enabling a mostly cash-and-stock bid. The company competed with Comcast and David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance and prevailed with a $72 billion proposal. The transaction could reshape the entertainment industry, subject to regulatory scrutiny and a possible challenge from Paramount. Paramount Skydance submitted early unsolicited bids after a merger led by Ellison and benefited from backing by Larry Ellison. The post-Thanksgiving deadline for second-round bids provided Netflix time to finalize documents and leverage its Silicon Valley speed.
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