The board of Warner Bros. Discovery has unanimously rejected a revised, hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance valued at $108.4 billion. In a letter to shareholders, the board labeled the proposal a risky "leveraged buyout" that would encumber the resulting company with an estimated $87 billion in debt, making it the largest LBO in history.
The board criticized the offer for providing "insufficient value" and creating significant risks and uncertainties for shareholders should the deal fail to close. Warner Bros. Discovery's leadership reiterated its strong recommendation for a competing, binding agreement with Netflix, which they argue offers superior and more certain value without the substantial risks associated with the debt financing required by Paramount's proposal.