Netflix’s Cash-Heavy Bid Raises Stakes in Warner Bros. Sale

• Netflix’s bid marks its largest potential acquisition, signaling strategic expansion beyond streaming content.
• Binding offers give Warner Bros. the ability to act quickly, but competitive interest keeps the process open.
• Industry watchers highlight the Thanksgiving weekend negotiations as pivotal in shaping final bid positions.

Netflix made a major cash offer in the latest auction round for Warner Bros. Discovery, deepening a high-stakes bidding battle that might end in weeks. Netflix's bid, along with moves from Paramount, Skydance, and Comcast, is the most intense push yet in the ongoing Warner Bros. Discovery sale.

Netflix Offer Includes  Billion-Dollar Bridge Loan

According to people involved with the proceedings, Netflix's purchase offer includes a temporary loan worth "tens of billions of dollars," allowing the streaming service to move promptly if terms are met. The proposals of the latest rounds are binding, allowing the Warner Bros. board to accept a deal immediately; nevertheless, other bids may still be considered.

Warner Bros. is aiming for a $30 share price, which chair emeritus John Malone has openly considered to be "possible." On Monday, shares closed at $23.87, valuing the corporation at over $59 billion.

Warner Bros. Deal: Paramount Targets Full Company Acquisition, Netflix Sets Eyes on HBO Max

Industry sources say bankers involved with Paramount Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix refined their proposals during the Thanksgiving weekend. This shows that the companies are dealing with a comparatively complex bidding procedure, hoping to improve their positions ahead of any board decisions.

Paramount's deal is reportedly backed by the Ellison family, Apollo Global Management, and Saudi investors. The deal also allegedly proposes to acquire the whole of the company, including its cable networks, indicating a more ambitious takeover strategy as discussions continue.

Whereas Comcast and Netflix are concentrating primarily on the Warner Bros. film studios and HBO Max, hoping to increase their premium content portfolios, leaving out Warner's larger cable companies.

Warner Bros. Cable Spin-Off Could Redefine Media Landscape

If either Comcast or Netflix succeeds, Warner Bros. will proceed with its plan to spin off its cable networks into a new business under Discovery Global by mid-2026. In October, the company formally began the process of selling after receiving unexpected interest in both its studio assets and its overall media portfolio. Nonetheless, the next agreement signed in this bidding war might change Hollywood’s streaming structure.