Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Studios and Streaming Division in Landmark Deal
WASHINGTON – Netflix has emerged as the winning โขbidder to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) studioโข assets and streaming division for nearly โข$28 per share, โคsurpassing a $24-per-share offer from Paramount Skydance, sources confirmed Thursday. The deal, expectedโ to close within 12 to 18 months, willโฃ significantly expand Netflix’s content library, though it will not includeโ WBD’s cable TV assets.
The โacquisition marks โa major shift in the media โขlandscape, bringing โคiconic franchises โlike Harry Potter โand DC Comics under the โคNetflix umbrella. Warner bros. Discovery is spinning off itsโข global networks โunit, Discovery globalโ – which includes CNN, TBS, โขand TNN – into โฃa separate publiclyโค traded company, anticipated in the third quarter of 2026,โฃ prior to the deal’s completion. Thisโ separation allows Netflix to focus onโ the studio โand streaming components of WBD.
Netflix willโค gain access to Warner Bros.’ film andโ television production studios, and also WBD’s streaming service, HBO Max, which boasts nearlyโข 130 million subscribers.However, the deal specifically excludes the cable networks โslated for spinoff.
The agreement includes ample financial safeguards: Netflix has offeredโฃ a $5.8 billion breakup fee should regulators block the acquisition, while Warner Bros.โ Discovery will pay Netflix $2.8 billion if it delays or terminatesโค the deal.
Opposition to theโข deal has already surfaced. David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, recently met with Trump administration officials and lawmakers โto argue against theโ acquisition, leveraging his father, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s, close ties to former President Trump.
The โฃdeal is anticipated to face rigorousโค antitrust scrutiny inโ both theโข U.S. and Europe, given Netflix’s position as the โฃworld’s largest streaming service. The acquisition of โคa major competitor โคlike Warner Bros. Discovery raises concerns about market dominance.
The path to this deal โhasโฃ been complex.AT&T initially acquired Warner Bros. through โits 2018 merger with Time Warner. Subsequently, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia andโข merged itโค with Discovery in 2022.Warner Bros. โDiscovery then initiated a sale process in October 2025.
