Netflix To Buy WBD's Studio, Streaming In $82.7B Deal

• by Wayne Friedman , 7 hours ago

Moving swiftly, Netflix will buy Warner Bros. Discovery's key studio and streaming operations for $82.7 billion -- securing the legendary movie studio/TV company and beating out legacy media companies Paramount Skydance and Comcast Corp.

The deal is for $27.50 per WBD share in cash and stock -- totaling $82.7 billion, with $72.0 billion coming from cash ($23.25 in cash/$4.50 Netflix shares). Early Friday morning trading of WBD stock was up 4% to $25.46. Netflix was down 3% to $100.24.

As expected, Netflix only wanted to buy the studio and streaming operations. Netflix says the deal is estimated to close after WBD's planned separation of the company.

Discovery Global will be a newly publicly traded company that will contain all the company’s global cable networks including CNN, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, Food Network, and HGTV, among many others.

Previously, WBD also planned to spin out its studio/streaming operations as a separate publicly traded company.

Analysts expect Netflix to see heavy analysis from the antitrust division of the Department of Justice due to its dominance in the streaming market. The Trump administration may also weigh into the deal, considering its long-time battle and criticism over CNN, the longtime cable TV news network.

Early in the week, warnings came from Paramount about the lack of transparency and the “fairness and adequacy” of the sales process that Warner Bros. Discovery was undertaking in the deal.

Analysts say those warnings and criticisms came as a prelude that the deal was going the way of Netflix. WBD was to decide on the winning bid next week.

Paramount implored WBD to appoint an independent committee of “disinterested members of its board to consider any potential transaction.”

The deal includes HBO Max, cable TV network HBO, entire movie and the film libraries of Warner Bros.

Netflix says the deal creates “more opportunities for the creative community... the company will create greater value for talent — offering more opportunities to work with beloved intellectual property, tell new stories and connect with a wider audience than ever before.”