Paramount now owns Warner Bros. as Netflix steps aside

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Paramount is planning to buy Warner Bros. Discovery outright, following the cancellation of Warner Bros. Discovery’s planned merger with Netflix.

Warner Bros. Discovery has chosen Paramount’s bid of $110 billion over Netflix for an acquisition. Warner Bros. Discovery considers Paramount’s offer to be the best and will now move forward with the deal, ending their previous plans to merge with Netflix. Here’s a summary of the agreement and the services Paramount will be acquiring from Warner Bros.

Paramount completely acquires Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Paramount Skydance has submitted a proposal they believe is better for the company.

Netflix once planned to merge with Warner Bros., but the deal faced pushback from groups like SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America, and the Directors Guild of America. Even Paramount opposed it. The U.S. Department of Justice also investigated the potential merger, concerned it would give the combined company too much control over the entertainment industry and create a monopoly.

Warner Bros. Discovery revealed that Paramount made an offer of $31.00 per share to acquire the company, putting WBD’s total value at approximately $110.9 billion. The deal could be finalized as soon as September 30, 2026.

Paramount will cover the $2.8 billion cost of ending Warner Bros. Discovery’s previous deal with Netflix.

Netflix had the chance to make a competing offer, but they turned it down, stating the proposed deal was no longer a good financial value.

We appreciate the thorough and fair process led by David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer, and the Warner Bros. Discovery Board. While we believed we could have successfully managed Warner Bros.’ valuable brands and boosted the entertainment industry – creating more U.S. production jobs – this deal wasn’t essential for us, and we weren’t willing to overpay for it.

Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, Netflix co-CEOs

What assets is Paramount acquiring from Warner Bros.?

Paramount will own all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s businesses, covering everything from streaming services and TV networks to popular franchises, video games, and their extensive collection of movies and shows.

The most notable assets Paramount assume ownership over include:

  • CNN
  • Cartoon Network
  • Adult Swim
  • TLC
  • Discovery Channel
  • Food Network
  • HBO Max
  • TNT Sports

Paramount will control popular franchises like Harry Potter and everything related to DC Comics, covering both video games and broader pop culture.

The deal will also encompass the following gaming studios, game franchises, and IPs:

  • Rocksteady Studios – Batman: Arkham series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
  • NetherRealm Studios – Mortal Kombat, Injustice
  • Avalanche Software, Portkey Games – Hogwarts Legacy, Harry Potter / Wizarding World games
  • Traveller’s Tales – LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, etc.
  • WB Games – Gotham Knights

Both Paramount and Warner Bros. have experience with fighting games that bring together characters from different franchises. Paramount has the Nickelodeon Super Brawl and All-Star Brawl series, while Warner Bros. created MultiVersus. Now that the two companies are merging, there’s a possibility we could see a crossover event combining characters from both games.

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2026-02-27 11:11