A bid of $32 per share soon? Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US) increases efforts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US).

The takeover battle surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery continues to heat up. According to media reports citing industry sources on Monday, Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US) is expected to offer $32 per share for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US). The reports stated that last week Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to renegotiate with Paramount, seeking the "ultimate and best" offer. Previously, a Paramount executive had informed Warner Bros. board members that if the parent company of HBO returned to the negotiating table, Paramount would be willing to increase their offer to above $31 per share, and that this offer was not final. Subsequently, Warner Bros. set a 7-day response deadline for Paramount, ending on February 23rd at 23:59 Eastern Time. It is worth noting that Paramount has included more attractive terms in their latest offer. The reports mentioned that Paramount CEO David Ellison proposed that if the deal fails to receive regulatory approval after 2026, Paramount would pay Warner Bros. shareholders at least $650 million per quarter as an "escalating termination fee." Additionally, Paramount has agreed to bear a $25 billion termination fee, which would be paid to entities such as Netflix (NFLX.US) under specific circumstances. As another key player in the transaction, Netflix's stance has also been under market scrutiny. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, in an interview with reporter Cynthia Littleton last Friday, did not explicitly state how the company would respond if Paramount raised their offer. However, he emphasized that Netflix is known for being a "highly disciplined buyer," with a history of exiting bidding wars and letting others "buy high." Sarandos said, "It depends on the others now. We have an agreement with Warner Bros. If someone comes up with a better offer, and the Warner Bros. board says that this has not happened yet, then let the process move forward. But I won't comment on bidding strategy." He also reiterated that Netflix is not against walking away from a deal if the price is not right. In terms of regulatory progress, Paramount disclosed in filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday that their all-cash acquisition of Warner Bros. has cleared the 10-day waiting period mandated by the US Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act. Paramount stated that this means there are no legal obstacles to completing the acquisition within the US. However, based on the terms of the agreement previously signed between Netflix and Warner Bros., Netflix still retains the right to match any competitive offers. Warner Bros. plans to hold a special shareholders meeting on March 20th to vote on the transaction involving Netflix.