Netflix Shocks Hollywood With $83 billion Warner Bros Discovery Takeover Deal
Netflix has announced plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a landmark $83 billion mega-deal, marking the largest entertainment industry merger of the decade.
The acquisition would hand Netflix control of an enormous film and TV portfolio, including timeless classics such as Casablanca and Citizen Kane, as well as major modern hits like Harry Potter, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and the entire HBO Max catalog.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the merger would allow both companies to “deliver even more of what audiences love and help shape the future of global storytelling.” Netflix is already behind major international successes like Squid Game, Stranger Things, and K-Pop Demon Hunters.
This deal surpasses Disney’s $71 billion takeover of Fox in 2019, previously the biggest entertainment merger on record.
The transaction values Warner Bros. Discovery at $27.75 per share, giving it an equity value of roughly $72 billion and a total enterprise value of about $82.7 billion, including debt. Warner Bros. Discovery stock closed at $24.54 on Thursday on the Nasdaq.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav called the agreement a union of “two of the world’s most iconic storytelling companies.” Both boards have approved the deal, and it is projected to close within 12–18 months.
However, analysts expect significant hurdles ahead. Kathleen Brooks of XTB warned that Netflix could face backlash over fears of creating a near-monopoly in entertainment and streaming. She also noted this is Netflix’s largest attempted acquisition by far, raising questions about how such a massive combined entity would be managed.
The deal will undergo strict antitrust scrutiny in the United States and potentially internationally. Political concerns are also expected, given the scale of the consolidation.
Warner Bros. Discovery officially put itself up for sale in October after receiving several unsolicited offers, abandoning earlier plans to split the company into two separate divisions focused on cable networks and streaming.
Before Netflix emerged as the top bidder, Warner Bros. Discovery had drawn interest from Paramount—now controlled by the billionaire Ellison family following Skydance’s takeover—and Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal.
According to Bloomberg, Netflix has secured tens of billions of dollars in bridge financing to fund the acquisition. The streaming giant currently has more than 280 million global subscribers, making it the largest streaming service in the world.
Many Hollywood insiders, however, have expressed concern about Warner Bros. potentially falling under Netflix’s control. Some fear Netflix’s strategy of prioritizing streaming over theatrical releases could hurt the traditional film industry. Director James Cameron previously warned that a Netflix takeover of Warner Bros. would be “a disaster.”
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