The battle for Warner Bros. Discovery has officially become one of the most high-stakes corporate wars in modern Hollywood — and according to the New York Post, Paramount Skydance believes it’s now beating Netflix at its own game.
As Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood collide, the Ellison-backed Paramount Skydance group believes Netflix’s once-dominant bid is unraveling under financial pressure, investor panic, and regulatory risk — while its own all-cash proposal looks stronger by the day.
A graphic showing the Netflix and Warner Bros. Logos – Netflix
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According to Charles Gasparino’s On The Money column for the New York Post, insiders at Paramount Skydance now believe Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has fewer and fewer viable paths left.
And none of them favor Netflix.
Two Bids — Two Very Different Futures
At the center of the Paramount Netflix standoff for Warner Bros. are two dramatically different offers.
Paramount Skydance’s bid sits at $30 per share in cash, valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at roughly $78 billion. The deal is being funded with $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison, with financing from Citigroup and Bank of America backing the remaining structure.
David Ellison in an interview with Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
Netflix’s competing proposal looks smaller and riskier by comparison: $27.75 per share in cash and Netflix stock, plus an additional $3 per share tied to the planned sale of Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable assets, including CNN, TNT, and Discovery.
That extra $3 is not guaranteed. It depends entirely on how the cable spinoff trades in the market — a risk Paramount Skydance is now aggressively attacking.
Versant’s Collapse Changed Everything
The cable spinoff math used to support Netflix’s bid just took a major hit.
The New York Post points to Comcast’s newly spun-off cable company Versant as the real-world test case. Versant, which holds MSNBC, CNBC, and E!, launched this week — and its stock is already down nearly 30%.
Rachel Maddow on MSNBC – YouTube, MSNBC
RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale is now telling investors that if Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable spinoff trades “in line” with Versant — especially while carrying $15 billion in debt — it may be worth next to nothing.
That wipes out the entire financial foundation of Netflix’s $3-per-share sweetener.
In other words: Netflix is asking WBD shareholders to gamble on a cable market that Wall Street is actively dumping.
Netflix’s Stock Is Working Against It
Netflix is also paying for this deal partly in its own shares — and those shares have been getting crushed.
According to the New York Post, Netflix has lost more than $150 billion in market value during the months-long Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war. Investors are deeply uneasy with Netflix abandoning its traditional growth model and suddenly trying to become a studio conglomerate.
Vecna confronts Will in Stranger Things 5 – Netflix
Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings are executing what Wall Street sees as a risky 180-degree pivot — from lean streaming giant to debt-heavy content empire — and markets are punishing them for it.
That makes Netflix’s stock-based offer less attractive by the week.
The Ellison Advantage: Power and Politics
Paramount Skydance also holds a unique advantage Netflix simply can’t match: Larry Ellison’s political and financial gravity.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison being interviewed – YouTube, CNBC Television
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The New York Post notes the long-standing relationship between Ellison and President Trump, who will likely influence the antitrust landscape for any mega-merger. That matters enormously when evaluating a potential Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery union — which would combine the No. 1 streamer with the No. 3 streamer (HBO Max).
That deal would immediately trigger intense regulatory scrutiny.
By contrast, Paramount Skydance combining with WBD produces a much cleaner antitrust profile.
And Zaslav knows it.
Even Investors Are Starting to Flip
Paramount Skydance’s cash offer hasn’t increased — but momentum is shifting anyway.
Legendary value investor Mario Gabelli publicly backed the Skydance bid this week, telling Fox Business:
“Cash is king… $30 in cash is a better deal.”
WBD CEO David Zaslav Speaks at a New York Times event – YouTube, New York Times Events
That sentiment is spreading. Cash today beats speculative cable spinoffs and volatile Netflix stock tomorrow.
Zaslav engineered this bidding war brilliantly, pushing Warner Bros. Discovery’s value sky-high after rejecting an earlier $19-per-share Ellison proposal last fall. But the runway is narrowing — and the Netflix path looks increasingly dangerous.
Netflix Is Running Out of Leverage
The Paramount WB Netflix fight is no longer just about price. It’s about risk.
Netflix’s offer relies on:
- A collapsing cable market
- A volatile stock price
- Heavy antitrust exposure
- And a radical shift in business model
The Logo for Netflix – Netflix
Paramount Skydance’s offer, meanwhile, delivers:
- Guaranteed cash
- Bank-backed financing
- Lower regulatory risk
- And Ellison’s personal equity guarantee
Zaslav may want more. But as Gasparino suggests, he may soon have to settle for the safest option in front of him.
WBD CEO David Zaslav Speaks at a New York Times event – YouTube, New York Times Events
And right now, that’s not Netflix.
Who do you think will come out on top in the Paramount, Netflix Warner Bros. saga? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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Versant’s losses are closer to 45% and you have to dig past liberal media and leftist Big Tech sites to find that much. It seems Google et al. are hiding things from casual searchers.
That puts Netflix’s offer in an even worse light than before. They might have to withdraw entirely simply because their true final offer can’t match PSKY.