Paramount’s updated bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) prevailed, but it is no longer pending: the acquisition closed on October 6, 2026. Paramount’s February proposal was $31 per WBD share in cash; at closing, Skydance said shareholders received $31.01666668 per share in cash.
What happened to Paramount’s updated bid?
On February 26, 2026, Paramount Skydance said WBD’s board had determined its $31-per-share all-cash proposal was a “Company Superior Proposal” under WBD’s existing merger agreement with Netflix. AP later reported that Netflix withdrew after Paramount raised its offer to $31 per share, and that Paramount and WBD signed a mutual merger agreement in late February.
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Paramount’s announcement described a proposed acquisition of 100% of WBD. The transaction is now complete: Skydance announced the closing on October 6, 2026, after required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. WBD shares stopped trading on Nasdaq effective that day.
Bid price versus closing consideration
The often-quoted $31 figure was the bid price in Paramount’s February 26 proposal, not the exact per-share amount announced at closing. In its October 6 closing announcement, Skydance said WBD shareholders received $31.01666668 per share in cash. These figures describe different stages of the transaction and should not be conflated.
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What Paramount’s February proposal included
Paramount’s February 26 announcement outlined financial and termination protections alongside the cash offer. These were proposal-stage terms described by Paramount, rather than independently audited closing figures.
| Term | What Paramount said on February 26, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Offer | $31 per WBD share, all cash, for 100% of WBD. |
| Netflix agreement termination fee | Paramount said it would pay the $2.8 billion fee WBD owed Netflix to end the existing agreement. |
| Regulatory termination fee | $7 billion under the proposed agreement. |
| Ticking fee | $0.25 per share per quarter accruing after September 30, 2026, until closing. |
| Potential debt-exchange cost | The proposal addressed a potential $1.5 billion financing cost associated with WBD’s debt exchange offer. |
| Equity commitment | $45.7 billion from the Ellison Trust, with Larry Ellison guaranteeing the commitment. |
| Debt commitment | $57.5 billion from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, and Apollo. |
Paramount said the proposed transaction required the four-business-day match period to end, termination of the Netflix agreement, and execution of a definitive merger agreement. The board’s superior-proposal determination was a step within that agreement’s process; it was not itself the closing.
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Regulatory decisions and closing
Regulatory review did not mean the same thing in every jurisdiction. On August 6, 2026, the UK Culture Secretary said she would not intervene under the UK’s public-interest or foreign-state-influence regimes, citing assurances and legally binding commitments from Paramount. The government’s stated concerns included media plurality, children’s programming, editorial independence, and news. Its statement described commitments to preserve distinct editorial identities for specified services, protect Channel 5 News’s editorial independence, and continue Channel 5 as a public-service broadcaster. That UK decision was specific to those UK regimes, not a global clearance.
Separately, AP reported that on September 30, 2026, a federal judge approved Paramount’s settlement with 12 states, removing a key obstacle ahead of the expected closing. AP said the judge called the proposed consent decree a “fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms” alleged by the states. That description concerns the settlement’s approach to the allegations; it is not a finding that the merger caused no competitive harm.
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Skydance’s October 6 announcement said the transaction closed after required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The closing announcement identified a combined portfolio spanning studios, streaming, television and cable assets, news, sports, and content libraries, including CBS, HBO, Paramount+, CNN, and TNT Sports.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for WBD shareholders
For shareholders, the key practical result is that WBD’s stock ceased trading when the acquisition closed, and the company announced cash consideration of $31.01666668 per share. The February $31 offer is useful for understanding how the bid contest developed; it is not a description of a currently open offer or a continuing WBD share-trading opportunity.
The available announcements establish Paramount’s proposal terms and the final cash amount, but they do not provide a like-for-like reconstruction of the full economics of Netflix’s earlier agreement. A complete comparison would require the definitive agreements and proxy materials, so the two bids should not be ranked by headline price alone on this information.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Paramount Skydance’s February 26, 2026 announcement of its proposal.
- AP’s report on Netflix’s withdrawal and the late-February agreement.
- UK government statement on the August 6, 2026 non-intervention decision.
- AP’s September 30, 2026 report on the state settlement and court approval.
- Skydance’s October 6, 2026 closing announcement.
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