Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters Says Paramount's WBD Bid 'Doesn't Pass the Sniff Test' – Media Play News

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Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters Says Paramount's WBD Bid 'Doesn't Pass the Sniff Test' – Media Play News

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Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters has raised concerns about Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), describing it as heavily dependent on tech billionaire Larry Ellison and significant debt financing. Peters pointed out that the bid, led by Paramount CEO David Ellison, relies on more than $55 billion in debt, making its feasibility questionable.

Currently, Netflix has an accepted $82.7 billion all-cash agreement to acquire WBD’s studio and streaming assets. According to WBD’s board of directors, Netflix’s proposal offers greater financial certainty, and the board has already turned down more than six separate bids from Paramount.

Paramount recently reported a net loss of nearly $6 billion on $21 billion in revenue for the fiscal quarter ending September 30. In contrast, Netflix posted a net income of $2.4 billion on $12 billion in revenue during its most recent quarter.

Peters commented, “Without Larry Ellison independently financing this, there’s no chance Paramount could make this happen.” He also questioned the sustainability of Paramount’s $30-per-share offer for WBD, given the company’s current debt levels and the additional leverage required. “If they were to increase the bid, what kind of debt leverage would that require? It’s hard to see how that would work out well,” Peters said. He added, “It doesn’t pass the sniff test in my mind, and that’s the conclusion the Warner Bros. board reached. I believe Warner shareholders feel the same way.”

On the other hand, Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital and Paramount’s second-largest shareholder, has pushed back against Netflix’s claims. Cardinale argued that Paramount’s debt is not as high as reported and described Netflix’s offer as “the Harry Houdini of deals.”

So far, less than 7% of WBD’s 2.5 billion outstanding shares have been tendered to the Paramount offer, which is set to expire on February 20.

Disclaimer: This article has been auto-generated from a syndicated RSS feed and has not been edited by Vitrina staff. It is provided solely for informational purposes on a non-commercial basis.

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