At the beginning of the month, Paramount's CEO David Ellison visited Paris, the center of European cinema, where he had lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron. Additionally, he met with the culture ministers of both France and the United Kingdom.
Paramount is counting on the support of European politicians and cultural figures to convince Warner Bros. shareholders of the viability of its proposal, which has already been rejected several times.
In its strategy, Paramount emphasizes its commitment to the art of cinema and assures that it can protect it from streaming companies like Netflix. As part of its proposal, Paramount promised to release at least 30 films per year for theaters, as well as adhere to "traditional release windows."
Since the beginning of 2026, an active battle for control over Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has erupted between Netflix and Paramount. Netflix has made an offer of approximately $82.7 billion, while Paramount, in conjunction with Skydance, has proposed a more attractive $108.4 billion for the complete acquisition of the company.
According to media reports, Netflix intends to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets for cash, without increasing its offer amount of $82.7 billion. The Warner Bros. board of directors has already unanimously approved this offer from Netflix, while Paramount's proposal to buy the entire company for $108 billion was rejected.
The press release notes that Netflix will complete the acquisition of Warner Bros. on a cash basis, simplifying the deal structure and increasing shareholders' confidence in its value. This will also expedite the shareholder voting process.
Netflix's new offer is $27.75 per share, replacing the previous one, which included $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock.
The Warner Bros. board of directors has already approved Netflix's new stock buyback proposal at a price of $27.75 per share. A special shareholders' meeting to vote on the deal with Netflix is scheduled for April.
Previously, the WBD board of directors rejected Paramount's proposal to acquire the company for $108 billion.
However, according to Alex Fitch, a portfolio manager at Harris Oakmark, which is one of the major investors in Warner Bros., the battle for the company between Netflix and Paramount continues. "The new terms of the deal show that Netflix is serious, and the expedited shareholder voting implies that Paramount needs to act quickly. They should offer clearly more favorable terms if they want to seize this deal," he emphasizes.
