Netflix Acquires Warner Bros Discovery

Netflix has announced entering agreement to acquire Warner Bros. from Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at $82.7 billion, marking one of the largest consolidation moves in the entertainment industry and a major shift for the world’s largest streaming platform.

The companies announced the agreement on Friday, confirming months of speculation about a potential sale.

Under the cash-and-stock arrangement, each Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock per share, valuing the company at $72 billion in equity.

The deal is contingent on Warner Bros. Discovery’s previously announced plan to separate its Global Networks division into a new publicly traded company, Discovery Global, a process now expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.

The acquisition would bring Netflix, originally a mail-order DVD service, into full ownership of a legacy Hollywood studio for the first time.

Warner Bros., founded in the 1920s, owns some of the most influential film and television titles in American culture, including Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, The Sopranos, Harry Potter and the DC Universe. HBO and HBO Max, also part of the deal, would shift to a Netflix-controlled structure after the transaction closes.

The company said it intends to expand its production footprint in the U.S. and use Warner Bros.’ established capabilities to bolster its global slate of original programming.

Executives from both companies portrayed the move as a strategic alignment of strengths.

The parent company of HBO, CNN, and the Warner Bros film studio officially put itself up for sale in October after receiving multiple unsolicited offers, setting aside a planned split into two separate entities — one focused on streaming and studios, the other on traditional cable networks.

Warner Bros Discovery was originally targeted by Paramount — recently acquired by the billionaire tech family of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men.

According to Bloomberg, Netflix joined Paramount Skydance and Comcast, the owner of NBC Universal, in a second round of an auction that was being negotiated throughout the US Thanksgiving holiday.

Paramount also submitted a bid close to $27 a share on Thursday, CNN reported, citing an unnamed source.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery had entered exclusive talks for the company’s TV and film studios and streaming service, HBO Max.

Top Hollywood players have voiced their preference to see Warner Bros not end up in the hands of Netflix, citing concerns that the streaming company largely seeks to limit theatrical releases of its film productions.

“Titanic” director James Cameron told podcast “The Town” recently that a takeover of Warner Bros by Netflix would be “a disaster.”