Paramount’s Rising Bids Rebuffed as WBD Considers Sale | JQJO

Paramount made three escalating, rejected bids to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, culminating on Oct. 13 with a $23.50-per-share cash-and-stock offer—an 87% premium—and a proposal to keep David Zaslav as co-chief executive and co-chairman. A letter from Paramount chief David Ellison to the board helped explain Warner Bros. Discovery’s announcement that it is for sale, drawing interest from Comcast and Amazon. Paramount argued rivals face regulatory hurdles, raised its cash portion to 80% and the fee payable if a deal isn’t approved to $2.1 billion, and said a split would yield less than its bid.