WBD Acquisition Thread

[JulianRO]

So, it's confirmed they don't have any power to change the situation.

 

[Camping My TV Set]

since this has become the defacto WBD thread, there's a new thing I've been curious about:

who's running the CN and AS social medias? or rather, who will run them post-split? the CN ones seem more WB adjacent compared to all of the other networks, and AS tends to go whereever CN does.

 

[Insidus]

since this has become the defacto WBD thread, there's a new thing I've been curious about:

who's running the CN and AS social medias? or rather, who will run them post-split? the CN ones seem more WB adjacent compared to all of the other networks, and AS tends to go whereever CN does.

I'm leaning more toward Discovery Global as they've usually been linear tailored but I do wonder what will happen with the YouTube channels.

 

[JulianRO]

Paramount eyes Pentwater Capital's Halbower for Warner Bros' board seat

Paramount Skydance is eyeing a prominent hedge fund manager and investor in Warner Bros Discovery to run for a seat on the media company's board to try and scuttle its proposed tie-up with Netflix. Paramount is holding discussions with Matthew Halbower, the founder of Pentwater Capital...

www.reuters.com

Keep trying Ellison.

 

[Moe]

Paramount eyes Pentwater Capital's Halbower for Warner Bros' board seat

Paramount Skydance is eyeing a prominent hedge fund manager and investor in Warner Bros Discovery to run for a seat on the media company's board to try and scuttle its proposed tie-up with Netflix. Paramount is holding discussions with Matthew Halbower, the founder of Pentwater Capital...

www.reuters.com

Keep trying Ellison.

They only own 1.1% of WBD.

Also, there are a lot of investors own Netflix as well, so it make shareholder vote more harder to predict, especially with Netflix and Paramount competing to take it.

If majority of WBD shareholders approve Netflix to buy WBD in next month, so it is mostly game over for Paramount. If there is doubt, Netflix will raise the offer to make more harder for Pentwater to refuse and massively increase the offer would shut Ellison out for good, but it make Netflix overpaid for WBD, kinda like Disney situation that where Comcast made Disney to overpay and now, Disney is going to make Comcast overpay on sport deal.

By the way, Pentwater is activist investor and that explains a lot.

 

[JulianRO]

so it is mostly game over for Paramount

It's game over already. Like really, just stop.

 

[Moe]

It's game over already. Like really, just stop.

Alright, I wouldn't jump to conclusion until there is a picture of shareholder vote next month.

It is assume that nearly all traditional investors would be sticking with Netflix.

 

[JulianRO]

Sorry, I wasn't saying for you to stop, if that's what you were thinking =))

I meant that for Ellison.

edit:

Exclusive | Paramount Skydance has been frantically begging activist investors for help with its Netflix battle

At least for now, Paramount needs to work hard to change the hearts and minds of WBD investors about Netflix.

nypost.com

Not very surprising, Ellison wants WBD really badly. However I don't know how he'll manage to convince the rest of 93% of WBD's shareholders to vote the PSKY offer.

Mod Note: Double post merged. Use the edit button on the initial post instead of posting twice or more in a row.

 

[Insidus]

Exclusive | Paramount Skydance has been frantically begging activist investors for help with its Netflix battle

At least for now, Paramount needs to work hard to change the hearts and minds of WBD investors about Netflix.

nypost.com

Not very surprising, Ellison wants WBD really badly. However I don't know how he'll manage to convince the rest of 93% of WBD's shareholders to vote the PSKY offer.

I believe he can get that percentage down a bit but that's how far it goes and I doubt the board will accept his revised bid I mean were shareholders REALLY worried about that break up fee even.

Alright, I wouldn't jump to conclusion until there is a picture of shareholder vote next month.

It is assume that nearly all traditional investors would be sticking with Netflix.

Honestly I wouldn't mind if Paramount acquired WBD or at least on the linear side but I think Netflix is the best option I mean think of the amount of Cartoon Network IPs they could look to revive maybe we could get another Ben 10 iteration perhaps a live-action one same with The Powerpiff Girls then there's The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy maybe we'll be getting that movie people had been longing for.

I think the Paramount deal would only lead to more reductions in terms of content.

 

[JulianRO]

Paramount taps ex-Trump official as public policy VP amid Warner Bros bid

Paramount Skydance has named Rene Augustine, a former Trump administration attorney, as its senior vice president of global public policy, according to a company memo seen by Reuters, amid an ongoing takeover battle for Warner Bros Discovery.

www.reuters.com

Why I shouldn't be surprised....

 

[Daikun]

Ellison is like a college student who procrastinated till the last day of an important exam to be turned in, then desperately asking his nearby neighbors to fill out the rest of the report for him just to have SOMETHING before the professor's deadline.

 

[Moe]

Honestly I wouldn't mind if Paramount acquired WBD or at least on the linear side

Linear alone is worthless to Ellison without massive WBD contents and it is nonstarter to him.

Linear assets are going to stay with Global Networks or other company who handle with linear TV business alone like Starz.

 

[JulianRO]

They would close most of the channels if they manage to buy just the linear assets. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept only CNN, CN, TCM, at least in the US.

 

[Moe]

They would close most of the channels if they manage to buy just the linear assets. I wouldn't be surprised if they kept only CNN, CN, TCM, at least in the US.

Ellison would transform CNN into Fox News-style and later, shut the channel down after massive loss of rating, or absorbed into CBS News.

Cable news is dying and agitate the CNN will kill the brand permanently, even if Ellison realizes that he make mistake and revert CNN back to past state will not save anymore. Most of CNN viewers would migrate to MS Now (especially opinion) and NewsNation (breaking news), along with ABC and NBC news.

However, it would be less severe if they just change CNN to make looks like moderate news, so it would be surprising, especially with Ellison's dad.

 

[PF9]

10 years ago all three major cable news networks were under common ownership with a major motion picture studio.

If the Netflix-WB deal goes through, then none of those networks will retain any movie studio ties, following the Disney purchase of most of 21st Century Fox in 2019 (which separated 20th Century Studios and Fox News), and the spinoff of Versant by Comcast earlier this year (which separated Universal and MS Now, formerly MSNBC).

 

[Moe]

10 years ago all three major cable news networks were under common ownership with a major motion picture studio.

If the Netflix-WB deal goes through, then none of those networks will retain any movie studio ties, following the Disney purchase of most of 21st Century Fox in 2019 (which separated 20th Century Studios and Fox News), and the spinoff of Versant by Comcast earlier this year (which separated Universal and MS Now, formerly MSNBC).

Yeah, streaming era created those situation, unfortunately.

 

[JulianRO]

Warner Bros weighs reopening sale talks with Paramount, Bloomberg News reports

The board has not decided how to respond and could stick to a deal with Netflix.

www.reuters.com

So, looks like somehow Ellison managed to flip the cards?

 

[Moe]

Warner Bros weighs reopening sale talks with Paramount, Bloomberg News reports

The board has not decided how to respond and could stick to a deal with Netflix.

www.reuters.com

So, looks like somehow Ellison managed to flip the cards?

It showed that Netflix needs to raise their bid.

 

[JulianRO]

I personally think that Ancora's statements managed to somehow change the shareholders's minds.

The problem isn't really the bid, is how good the offer sounds to shareholders anymore.

 

[Moe]

I personally think that Ancora's statements managed to somehow change the shareholders's minds.

The problem isn't really the bid, is how good the offer sounds to shareholders anymore.

I think that is more of exploratory and curiosity, so it would allow WBD board to understand and explain about how bad is Paramount deal to their WBD shareholders.

Netflix's acquisition of WBD still on strong momentum, also Netflix is prepared to fight if it start tilt to Paramount's favor.

It may allow a deal for CNN to be sold to different owner instead of Paramount in case if Paramount take WBD. That kinda like sale of Sky to NBCUniversal when 20th Century is sold to Disney.