Warner Bros. Discovery’s board did the right thing this week when it urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s amended $108 billion hostile takeover bid and stand by the company’s transaction with Netflix. The directors rightly labeled Paramount’s proposal “inadequate” and full of execution risk, insisting Netflix’s deal for the studio and streaming assets offers superior certainty and value for long-suffering investors.
Paramount tried to dress up its offer with an eye-catching $40.4 billion personal guarantee from Larry Ellison and a bumped-up reverse termination fee, but those headline numbers don’t erase the underlying problem: the bid is a massive leveraged buyout loaded with debt that would saddle the company with unsustainable risk. Warner’s board correctly pointed out that the financing structure would impose operating restrictions and huge obligations that could hamstring the company for years.
Conservative readers should cheer a board that puts shareholder value and long-term stability over flashy, risky deals engineered by billionaire backers and their advisers. Netflix’s offer—narrowly focused on studios and streaming while allowing cable networks to be spun off—keeps key pieces of the company intact and reduces the chance of reckless consolidation that benefits insiders at the expense of ordinary shareholders and employees.
It’s also worth noting the bizarre web of shadowy financing that surfaced around Paramount’s bid, with reports naming outside backers including Affinity Partners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the Qatar Investment Authority before questions emerged about who was really on the hook. Americans should be skeptical of backroom funding schemes that obscure who will control our cultural institutions and who’s willing to take on the risk when the music stops.
Beyond the financial sleight of hand, the deal raises real regulatory and operational alarms: Warner warned that accepting Paramount’s offer could leave shareholders on the hook for billions in termination and restructuring costs, while regulators in the U.S. and abroad will surely scrutinize any megadeal that reshapes media power. The board’s insistence on certainty and enforceable terms is not prudishness—it’s common-sense stewardship in a hostile-bid environment.
Hollywood’s entrenched elites and takeover artists love to paint themselves as saviors of the industry when really they’re hunting quick control and leverage. Groups representing movie theaters and creators have warned that either deal could threaten the theatrical ecosystem, which is why any change in ownership should be fought over in the light of day, not via opaque guarantees and leveraged gambits. Shareholders and patriots alike should demand transparent, accountable stewardship of America’s cultural champions.
The bottom line for hardworking shareholders is simple: don’t be bamboozled by loud promises and billionaire posturing. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board has a duty to protect value, jobs, and the creative engine that employs thousands of Americans, and urging a rejection of Paramount’s risky, debt-fueled takeover is the patriotic, prudent choice. Vote for certainty, accountability, and American jobs—not for risky, opaque takeover theatre.
