NETFLIX SWITCHES TO ALL-CASH BID FOR WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY AS PARAMOUNT PRESSURES DEAL
Read Time:2 Minute, 18 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
Netflix has amended its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), converting it into an all-cash proposal of $27.75 per share, as it moves to counter a competing hostile bid from Paramount Global.
The revised offer, announced on Tuesday, drops the stock component included in Netflix’s earlier proposal while maintaining an enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion. The bid targets WBD’s film and television studios, as well as HBO and HBO Max, while excluding its cable networks, which are to be spun off into a separate entity, Discovery Global.
WBD’s board has unanimously approved the amended Netflix offer and scheduled a shareholder vote for April 2026, despite Paramount Global pressing ahead with a rival $108.4 billion all-cash hostile bid valued at $30 per share. Paramount is also pursuing legal and proxy actions to sway shareholders.
The high-stakes corporate battle has already had ripple effects in key international markets, including Nigeria. After weeks of uncertainty over expiring carriage agreements, MultiChoice—now owned by Canal+—reached a multi-year deal with WBD on December 31, 2025, preserving 12 WBD channels on DStv and GOtv and averting a mass blackout that had been expected on January 1.
Channels retained include CNN International, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, TNT Africa, and Discovery networks, sparing millions of Nigerian subscribers the immediate loss of major news and children’s programming. The agreement also includes plans to launch HBO Max as a dedicated tile or service on MultiChoice platforms in 2026, ensuring continued access to HBO content locally even as Netflix pursues WBD’s production assets.
In contrast, four channels linked to Paramount Africa and CBS AMC—BET Africa, MTV Base, CBS Reality, and CBS Justice, were permanently removed from DStv on January 1, 2026.
While the WBD deal prevented a broader blackout, many Nigerian subscribers have expressed concern that subscription prices have not fallen despite the loss of the four channels, intensifying debates about value for money in a market where pay-TV remains a significant household expense.
Analysts say the episode underscores growing fragility in regional content supply chains, warning that global mergers and carriage negotiations can rapidly reshape local channel line-ups and push viewers toward standalone streaming services or cheaper alternatives.
READ MORE…
MR REAL OFFERS PUBLIC APOLOGY TO D’BANJ OVER VIRAL STATEMENT ON CREAM PLATFORM
With shareholder votes on the Netflix-WBD deal expected in April 2026 and Paramount’s legal and proxy challenges still unfolding, the outcome could determine which global media assets remain bundled for international carriage. For Nigerian viewers, attention is now focused on whether MultiChoice will adjust pricing or packages and how the planned HBO Max offering will be priced and bundled locally.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0