- Netflix made a winning bid for Warner Bros., but Paramount Skydance went hostile.
- David Ellison’s Paramount made a direct appeal to investors, and now he’s pitching his own staffers.
- Read Ellison’s full memo to Paramount employees.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has now made his pitch to buy Warner Bros. Discovery to that company’s board and shareholders, as well as his own employees.
Ellison pitched Paramount employees about his renewed offer to buy WBD in an email sent just after 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
“We believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole,” Ellison wrote in the memo to staffers, which was first obtained by Business Insider.
The Paramount CEO said he believes his all-cash, $30-per-share offer for all of WBD is superior to Netflix’s $27.75 offer for WBD’s streaming and studio assets, including the Warner Bros. film studio, HBO, and streamer HBO Max.
Paramount made a so-called hostile bid for WBD on Monday morning, hoping to get investors on its side.
Ellison is also trying to get his employees on board. He’s selling them on a vision where a Paramount-WBD tie-up becomes a powerhouse capable of challenging Netflix and YouTube.
“Our motivation for pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery has been consistent from the start,” Ellison wrote in the memo. “We love this industry and believe deeply in its future.”
Ellison also said that “storytelling” is “one of America’s greatest cultural and economic exports.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos similarly made an America-focused pitch when he approached President Donald Trump about the deal, he said at an industry conference on Monday afternoon.
“What the president has been interested in, in this deal, has been: To what extent does it protect and create jobs in America?” Sarandos said.
Netflix has said its proposal would be best for consumers and the entertainment industry. Paramount has made the opposite argument.
Read Ellison’s full memo to Paramount employees below:
Dear Team, This morning, we filed a tender offer — a public offer to purchase shares directly from a company’s shareholders — and made an appeal to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to acquire WBD for $30 per share in cash. You can read the details in our press release here, but in short, we believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole. Together, we would form a scaled, forward-looking company positioned to invest confidently in future growth and capitalize on rapidly changing industry dynamics — while better serving creative talent and consumers. A combined company would give us the reach, resources, and creative capacity to tell more exceptional stories and bring them to audiences around the world. We are taking our offer directly to shareholders because they deserve full transparency and the ability to make an informed choice. Our $30 per share, all cash proposal is superior to Netflix’s offer — $27.75 in total, including $23.25 in cash — across every dimension: higher overall value, greater certainty, a clearer regulatory path, and a future that is pro-Hollywood, pro-consumer, and pro-competition. Our motivation for pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery has been consistent from the start. We love this industry and believe deeply in its future. And we want to help preserve and strengthen one of America’s greatest cultural and economic exports: storytelling. By bringing Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery together, we aim to accelerate both creative engines, delivering a greater slate of high-quality films, television, sports, news, and games to global audiences. Bottom line: this transaction is about doing more, not less — for our company, for the industry, for consumers, for shareholders, and especially for the creative talent who power everything we do. We’re energized by the opportunity ahead, and we’re confident that once Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have the chance to decide for themselves, they’ll choose Paramount. As this process moves forward, I pledge to keep you informed whenever there are significant updates. Until then, let’s stay focused on our North Star priorities and continue pressing ahead. I remain deeply grateful for your hard work, dedication, and passion. Let’s go! David
Read the full article here
