Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV, film studios and streaming division for US$72 billion, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood’s most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer.
The agreement, announced on Friday, follows a weeks-long bidding war in which Netflix offered nearly US$28-a-share, eclipsing Paramount Skydance’s close to US$24 bid for the whole of Warner Bros Discovery, including the cable TV assets slated for a spin-off.
Buying the owner of marquee franchises including Game of Thrones, “DC Comics” and “Harry Potter” will further tilt the balance of power in Hollywood in favour of Netflix.
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It would help the streaming giant, which has so far built its dominance without major deals or a large content library, to ward off competition from Walt Disney and the Ellison family-backed Paramount.
The two companies together will “help define the next century of storytelling”, said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who had once said “the goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us”.
Antitrust scrutiny likely