All you need to know about the increasingly complex sale of Warner Bros. Discovery

"The long battle over control of Warner Bros. Discovery took another turn Monday when Paramount Skydance announced a hostile bid for the entertainment giant, following Warner's acceptance of a competing offer from Netflix last week. Paramount, which many once deemed the frontrunner in the original bidding war, announced a tender offer that tops the Netflix bid by $2.25 per share, appealing directly to shareholders. That adds another layer of complexity to the deal, which will see a significant consolidation of Hollywood's power players, no matter who ends up on top."

"Monday's bid, the sixth by Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), is the same one the company made in the close bidding process, it says. Paramount is offering $30 cash per share to acquire the totality of WBD, including the broadcast and cable networks, the HBO Max streaming service and the company's extensive catalog. That works out to $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix offer."

""We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood," said David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance in a statement. "It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry. We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction.""

Paramount Skydance launched a $30-per-share tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, exceeding Netflix's bid by $2.25 per share and roughly $18 billion in cash. The proposed acquisition covers all WBD assets, including broadcast and cable networks, HBO Max, and the company's content catalog. Paramount framed the bid as benefiting shareholders and the broader entertainment ecosystem while appealing directly to shareholders as the sixth offer in the process. Funding sources include the Ellison family along with sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar and participation by Affinity Partners. David Ellison said the deal would boost competition, content spend and theatrical output.

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