Skip to content
South African Live
Menu
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Politics
  • Fashion
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Business
  • About us
Menu

The battle for Warner Bros may be far from over

Posted on February 16, 2026
49
The battle for Warner Bros may be far from over
Image: Reuters

Warner Bros Discovery is considering reopening sale talks with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance after receiving its hostile suitor’s most recent amended offer, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday (paywall), citing pdeople with knowledge of the matter.

Members of Warner Bros’ board are discussing whether Paramount could offer the path to a superior deal, the report said, adding that the board has not decided how to respond and may stick to the current deal with Netflix .

Paramount, Warner Bros and Netflix did not respond to requests for comment.

Both Netflix and Paramount covet Warner Bros for its leading film and television studios

Paramount had enhanced its Warner Bros bid last week by offering shareholders extra cash for each quarter the deal fails to close after this year. It also agreed to cover the breakup fee the HBO parent would owe Netflix if it walked away, even though the CBS owner did not raise its per-share offer.

Paramount said it has offered shareholders a US$0.25/share quarterly “ticking fee” (about $650-million) in cash starting in 2027 until closing and agreed to cover Warner Bros’ $2.8-billion breakup fee to Netflix. However, it did not raise its $30/share offer, valuing the deal at $108.4-billion including debt.

Content library

Both Netflix and Paramount covet Warner Bros for its leading film and television studios, extensive content library and major franchises such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and DC Comics superheroes Batman and Superman.

Read: David Ellison just won’t quit

Activist investor Ancora Holdings, which has built a nearly $200-million stake, last week said it plans to oppose the Netflix deal, arguing the board did not sufficiently engage with Paramount over its rival bid, which includes cable assets like CNN and TNT.  — Chandni Shah, (c) 2026 Reuters

Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Sign up here.

Recent Posts

  • Child soldiers, pensioners, and foreigners taking over
  • Cape Gate says Competition Commission raid based on ‘unlawful’ warrant
  • ‘It Ends With Us’ star Justin Baldoni sets price for California house
  • Mustek flags earnings surge as Novus takeover remains stalled
  • Baloyi slams ‘irresponsible’ Chiefs

First established in 2020 by iReport Media Group, southafricanlive.co.za has evolved to become one of the most-read websites in South Africa. Published by iReport Media Group since 2020, find out all about us right here.

We bring you the latest breaking news updates, from South Africa and the African continent. South African Live is an independent, no agenda and no bias online news disruptor that goes beyond the news and behind the headlines. We believe what sets us apart is that we deliver news differently. While we hold ourselves to the utmost journalistic integrity of being truthful, we encourage a writing style that is acerbic and conversational, when appropriate.

LATEST NEWS

  • Child soldiers, pensioners, and foreigners taking over
  • Cape Gate says Competition Commission raid based on ‘unlawful’ warrant
  • ‘It Ends With Us’ star Justin Baldoni sets price for California house
  • Mustek flags earnings surge as Novus takeover remains stalled
  • Baloyi slams ‘irresponsible’ Chiefs

Menu

  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Fashion
  • Sports
  • About us
©2026 South African Live | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme