Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison shared in a memo to his employees Monday his intentions for acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery and how the deal could shape the entertainment ecosystem.
“We believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole,” the executive said in a memo to staffers Monday. “Our motivation for pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery has been consistent from the start. We love this industry and believe deeply in its future.”
After WBD accepted Netflix’s bid for the company Thursday, Paramount filed a $77.9 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison said the company’s $30 per share, all cash offer is superior to Netflix’s offer “across every dimension” with “higher overall value, greater certainty, a clearer regulatory path, and a future that is pro-Hollywood, pro-consumer, and pro-competition.”
The CEO’s pitch to his staff paints a picture of what the companies could achieve as a team. Ellison’s vision for the Parmount-WBD mammoth would rival the streaming giants of Netflix and YouTube.
“Together, we would form a scaled, forward-looking company positioned to invest confidently in future growth and capitalize on rapidly changing industry dynamics — while better serving creative talent and consumers,” he wrote. “A combined company would give us the reach, resources, and creative capacity to tell more exceptional stories and bring them to audiences around the world.”
WBD announced Monday that they will “carefully review and consider” Paramount’s tender offer. The company advised stockholders not to take any action with respect to the proposal yet and noted that they will return to them with a recommendation within 10 business days.
The all-cash offer would be $18 billion more and 29% more cash than Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal, amounting to an enterprise value of $108.4 billion. It includes over $41 billion of equity and $54 billion in committed debt financing and is fully backstopped by the Ellison family. Three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds will make up for $24 billion of financing for Paramount’s bid.
Read the full memo below:
Dear Team,
This morning, we filed a tender offer — a public offer to purchase shares directly from a company’s shareholders — and made an appeal to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to acquire WBD for $30 per share in cash.
You can read the details in our press release here, but in short, we believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole. Together, we would form a scaled, forward-looking company positioned to invest confidently in future growth and capitalize on rapidly changing industry dynamics — while better serving creative talent and consumers. A combined company would give us the reach, resources, and creative capacity to tell more exceptional stories and bring them to audiences around the world.
We are taking our offer directly to shareholders because they deserve full transparency and the ability to make an informed choice. Our $30 per share, all cash proposal is superior to Netflix’s offer — $27.75 in total, including $23.25 in cash — across every dimension: higher overall value, greater certainty, a clearer regulatory path, and a future that is pro-Hollywood, pro-consumer, and pro-competition.
Our motivation for pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery has been consistent from the start. We love this industry and believe deeply in its future. And we want to help preserve and strengthen one of America’s greatest cultural and economic exports: storytelling. By bringing Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery together, we aim to accelerate both creative engines, delivering a greater slate of high-quality films, television, sports, news, and games to global audiences.
Bottom line: this transaction is about doing more, not less — for our company, for the industry, for consumers, for shareholders, and especially for the creative talent who power everything we do. We’re energized by the opportunity ahead, and we’re confident that once Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have the chance to decide for themselves, they’ll choose Paramount.
As this process moves forward, I pledge to keep you informed whenever there are significant updates. Until then, let’s stay focused on our North Star priorities and continue pressing ahead. I remain deeply grateful for your hard work, dedication, and passion.
Let’s go!
David
