International Desk (EFE).- Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), including its film and television studios, as well as HBO and HBO Max, for $82.7 billion, the two companies announced in a joint statement on Friday.
Netflix’s final offer was $27.75 per WBD share, compared to the $24 offered by Paramount, which, along with Comcast, were the three interested parties in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.
The transaction is expected to close after the previously announced spin-off of Discovery Global, the television-focused company, which will include CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery+, and free-to-air channels in Europe.
The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.
Bidding for all or part of WBD began in October with an offer from Paramount, which offered $27 per share for 100 percent of the company.
Netflix and Comcast later joined the bidding, which has had two rounds, the last on Dec. 1. But their offers were only for a portion of the company, excluding Discovery Global.
On Thursday, Paramount accused Warner Bros. Discovery of favoring Netflix in the sales process.
Netflix’s acquisition of WBD represents the merger of two of the leading entertainment companies.
The catalog will include HBO productions such as ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘The Sopranos’, and ‘Game of Thrones’, as well as films like ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and DC Universe titles, which will join Netflix series such as ‘Wednesday’, ‘Money Heist’, ‘Bridgerton’, and ‘Adolescence’.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in the statement.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies — from timeless classics like ‘Casablanca’ and ‘Citizen Kane’ to modern favorites like ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Friends’ — with our culture-defining titles like ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Squid Game,’ we’ll be able to do that even better,” he added.
For his part, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said that “today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most.” EFE
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