HOLLYWOOD / NEW YORK — In a seismic shift that could permanently alter the global media landscape, Netflix has officially withdrawn its offer to acquire the studio and streaming assets of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The move clears the path for Paramount owned by David Ellison’s Skydance to move forward with a superior $31-per-share bid, a deal valued at approximately $111 billion including debt. Netflix’s withdrawal came late Thursday, February 26, 2026, less than two hours after WBD’s board declared Paramount’s offer “superior” and gave the streaming giant a four-day window to counter.
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters issued a joint statement explaining that while they would have been “strong stewards” of Warner’s iconic brands, the escalated price rendered the transaction “no longer financially attractive.” Netflix had previously proposed a $27.75-per-share offer, totaling nearly $83 billion, focused specifically on WBD’s studio and streaming business. In contrast, Paramount’s bid is for the entire company, including HBO Max, the legendary film studio, and news powerhouse CNN.
The prospect of a Paramount-Warner combination would unite two of Hollywood’s five legacy studios, merging libraries that include Harry Potter, Superman, and Barbie with Paramount’s Top Gun, Titanic, and The Godfather. It would also bring major television networks like CBS, MTV, and Nickelodeon under the same corporate umbrella as HBO’s prestige hits like Succession and The White Lotus. WBD CEO David Zaslav expressed excitement about the potential merger, praising Netflix as an “extraordinary partner” throughout the months-long battle but noting that the Skydance-Paramount deal will create “tremendous value.”
However, the proposed merger has already sparked intense political and regulatory debate. Critics have raised alarms over the growing influence of billionaire Larry Ellison—father of Paramount CEO David Ellison and a close ally of President Donald Trump—on the national news landscape. With Bari Weiss currently serving as editor-in-chief of CBS News, many fear a similar editorial shift at CNN, a network frequently targeted by the President. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has already labeled the potential deal an “antitrust disaster,” warning that a handful of Trump-aligned billionaires are attempting to seize control of the nation’s media consumption.
As WBD prepares to officially adopt the Paramount merger agreement, the deal still requires the green light from shareholders and regulators at the Department of Justice. While President Trump has publicly stated that regulatory approval will be left to the DOJ, his ties to the Ellison family continue to fuel speculation about the deal’s political undercurrents. If successful, this merger would represent the most significant consolidation in Hollywood history, concentrating an unprecedented amount of cultural and news-gathering power within a single entity.
