Paramount's parent company, Skydance, has escalated its hostile takeover attempt of Warner Bros. Discovery, announcing on Monday its intention to nominate a slate of its own director candidates ahead of the Hollywood studio's next shareholder meeting.
Concurrently, Paramount has filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, demanding that Warner Bros. disclose to its shareholders the valuation of Paramount's acquisition offer, as well as the valuation of a competing bid from Netflix.
Warner Bros. is currently at the center of a bidding war between Paramount and Netflix. The management of Warner Bros. has repeatedly rejected acquisition proposals from Skydance's Paramount and is urging shareholders to support a $72 billion sale of the company's streaming and film studio businesses to Netflix. Meanwhile, Paramount has continued to raise its offer, increasing its hostile bid for the entire Warner Bros. company to $77.9 billion.
Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery stated that its board had determined Paramount's offer was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, reiterating its recommendation that shareholders support the deal with Netflix.
David Ellison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Skydance, which controls Paramount, stated on Monday that the company is fully committed to advancing this tender offer. In a letter to Warner Bros. shareholders, he said, "We are not taking these actions lightly."
As of now, Warner Bros. has not set a date for its annual shareholder meeting, nor has it scheduled a special meeting to consider Netflix's acquisition proposal. Paramount has also not yet released the specific list of candidates for its board nominations.
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