Entertainment, business and follow-up lawyer Seth Berenzweig joins the morning of Maria to weigh in on the paramount bid at Warner Bros. Discovery as Netflix is facing a merger action lawsuit.
Paramount, Skydance Corporation, and Netflix Both want to buy Warner Bros. Discovery will face the same problems of killing antitrust and may change strategies to satisfy regulators, according to the competition law guru.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) agreed to sell its film and television studios and streaming platform, HBE max, to Netflix in a share-and-stock deal for $27.75 per share. But Paramount announced on Monday an all-cash tender offer to acquire WBD for $30.00 per share in cash, with the company suggesting it is a “higher” deal.
Scott Wagner, Co-Head of the antitrust practice at Bilzin Sumberg, guides clients through investigations by the Department of Justice and other government agencies. He said both companies face significant challenges.
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Paramount, Skydance Corporation, and Netflix are both looking to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. (Anna BarClay/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I think even with Paramount’s share of the broadcast market – even if it’s less than Netflix – I think the thinking would be very similar to broadcast before, whether it’s Netflix or Fox News Digital.
“Yes, Netflix has a large market share. It may be a problem with a large number,” he continued. “But I still think about the paramount of the market, it’s a big enough market for the combined company, it would still be watched, you know, with a very close eye.”
Paramount’s other proposed transaction is for all of WBD — including its share of global networks including CNN and other cable assets — while Netflix wants to acquire only the studio and cable broadcasters, leaving behind booming cable companies like CNN.
Paramount’s control of all CBS and CNN news will give the company a strong share of traditional media, although Wagner’s courts say and weigh in on new outlets like X,
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Any company that informs warner bros. Adoption will deal with anti-virus issues. (Aleksander Kalka / Nurphoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“From an anti-technological perspective, the material side of things is probably going to be more of a concern than the genetics side,” Wagner said.
“You can certainly make the argument that the right market is legacy media,” he continued. “But I think a better argument might be that the market is broader than legacy media.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that CNN be part of any sale.
“I think people who have run for a long time are a disgrace,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think it’s important that CNN be sold because you certainly don’t want to put people, you know, you can spend more money.”
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Warner bros. CEO acquisition of David Zaslav. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Netflix has not indicated that it wants to do anything with the fighting network, but Wagner believes that it can change if it wants to successfully acquire WBD.
“If I were still ready for Netflix, my advice to them would be that you want to do whatever you can to get this deal to agree to this deal,” Wagner said.
“I will not wish to have any kind of influence on the President’s out-of-conference comments at the press conference he has at the DoJ,” he continued. “But if you know that taking CNN is something that they had to do to get a deal done, they might do it.”
Wagner suggested Netflix could even include CNN in acquiring regulators and selling it once the deal is approved.
“That’s possible,” he said.
Panelists Ross Gerber and Laura Martin get into a bidding war over Warner Bros. The acquisition between Netflix and Paramount Skydance in Claman’s calculations.
Either way, Wagner said the saga won’t end anytime soon.
“A merger like this will take anywhere from a year to two years post-approval — where there’s a condition that’s been approved after we’ve received approval for financing,” he said.
“It’s not just the US that will be looking at this. The EU and other countries will also be looking at adoption,” he continued looking at adoption. “It’s also possible that you know that the enforcer on the other side will be looking for some kind of change related to this agreement or some kind of relaxation that the US is not asking for.”
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FOX News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
