Warner Bros. Discovery is giving Paramount one more week to make its best and final offer, leaving the door open for a deal that could upend its merger agreement with Netflix.
Officially, Warner Bros. is still committed to Netflix. The company today scheduled a special meeting date of March 20 and recommended that shareholders vote for the Netflix merger. But Warner Bros. is simultaneously opening negotiations with Paramount despite calling all of its previous offers deficient.
“Netflix has provided WBD a limited waiver under the terms of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix, permitting WBD to engage in discussions with Paramount Skydance for a seven-day period ending on February 23, 2026 to seek clarity for WBD stockholders and provide PSKY the ability to make its best and final offer,” Warner Bros. said today.
The Netflix/Warner Bros. merger agreement gives Netflix the right to match Paramount’s offer, Warner Bros. said. Warner Bros. Discovery board Chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr. and CEO David Zaslav asked for Paramount’s best and final offer in a letter to Paramount’s board today.
“To be clear, our Board has not determined that your proposal is reasonably likely to result in a transaction that is superior to the Netflix merger,” the letter said. But it added that Warner Bros. “welcome[s] the opportunity to engage with you and expeditiously determine whether PSKY can deliver an actionable, binding proposal that provides superior value, transaction certainty and interim protection for WBD’s businesses to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders.”
Netflix recently amended its $72 billion deal with Warner Bros., agreeing to pay all cash in an attempt to defeat Paramount’s hostile takeover bid. Netflix is set to pay $27.75 per share for an acquisition that includes HBO Max, WB Studios, and other assets. If the Netflix deal succeeds, Warner Bros. would separately spin off its cable TV division into a new entity that would be called Discovery Global.