On the 27th of February 2026, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced that Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a landmark merger worth $110 billion, making it one of the largest media deals in Hollywood history. Agreed upon by both companies' boards of directors and pending regulatory review and shareholder approval, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos was alleged to have had meetings with staff at the White House around the time the deal was announced. The board of Warner Bros. Discovery revealed that the revised bid from Paramount Global offers $31 per share in cash plus additional financial incentives, which beats Netflix's earlier $27.75 per share offer. The board notified Netflix of a four-business-day window to respond. Almost immediately after Warner's announcement, a public statement was released from Netflix's co-CEOs Sarandos and Greg Peters saying that they could not match the offer, describing it as not 'financially attractive' for the company.
The announced deal is set to be scrutinised by US federal antitrust regulators and state attorneys general, making the path to ownership far from guaranteed. California's attorney general posted on the 27th of February: 'Paramount/Warner Bros. is not a done deal. These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.'
Public Concerns
Since the news broke, major concerns raised online include massive job losses, less competition in Hollywood, creative freedom and storytelling risks, editorial independence concerns — especially at CNN — debt pressure potentially affecting content quality, and the streaming wars becoming an 'oligopoly'.
CNN Staff React
According to numerous reports from verified sources, staff at CNN have expressed grave concerns since news of the proposed acquisition emerged. This led CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson to release a statement urging staff to remain calm and avoid jumping to conclusions.
What Paramount Would Own
If successful, the merger represents a significant industry shift. It could either create a stronger challenger in the streaming wars or, if executed correctly, rival any studio in history. Paramount would now own:
Key Assets
- CNN
- HBO
- MTV
- Paramount+
- Nickelodeon
- Comedy Central
- Showtime
- TNT
- TBS
- Adult Swim
- DC Universe
- Harry Potter Rights
A controversy online also alleges that many Hollywood celebrities will be blackballed as a result of the merger.
A Second Look
In December last year, Bloomberg reported that Warner had rejected Paramount's first bid. It now seems that is no longer the case. An agreement has been reached by both parties, by one means or another.