By Karol Badohal and Harshita Mary Varghese
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery said on Friday it has agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a high-stakes bidding war after Netflix walked away from its agreement with the HBO Max owner.
Reuters first reported on Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount signing a deal on Friday morning, citing an audio clip of a global townhall held by the company.
"Netflix had the legal right to match the PSKY offer. As you all know,
they ultimately decided not to do that. That then resulted in a signed agreement with PSKY as of this morning. So that's where everything stands," Bruce Campbell, Warner Bros' chief revenue and strategy officer, said in the townhall.
On Thursday, Netflix declined to match Paramount's latest $31-per-share offer, which Warner Bros deemed superior to the streaming pioneer's $27.75-per-share agreement for its studio and streaming assets.
While Paramount has won the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery, the merger has drawn scrutiny. California regulators are preparing a vigorous review of the $110 billion deal, which could reshape Hollywood.
Paramount, led by billionaire Larry Ellison's son David Ellison, has deep political connections to the Trump administration, which could get it federal regulatory approval for its deal.
California State Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Thursday that California is already investigating the deal and will be "vigorous" in its review.
'EU ANTITRUST APPROVAL LIKELY NOT A HURDLE'
Paramount is expected to easily win European Union antitrust approval, with any required divestments likely to be minor, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources.
The deal - which includes some $29 billion in debt - is among Hollywood's biggest media shake-ups and will create one of the largest film studios in the world, allowing Paramount to tap Warner's trove of intellectual property, including franchises such as "Fantastic Beasts" and "The Matrix".
It will also allow Paramount to bolster its streaming efforts, with a potential combination of HBO Max and Paramount+, enabling it to gain market share and tussle with market leader Netflix.
Paramount was in pursuit of Warner Bros since late last year when it launched a hostile campaign to wrestle the company from the streaming giant by consistently raising its offer.
The company, led by billionaire Larry Ellison's son David Ellison, enticed Warner's board back to the bargaining table by raising the possibility of an improved cash offer.
In its revised bid, Paramount raised the termination fee it would pay should the deal fail to gain regulatory approval to $7 billion from $5.8 billion.
Paramount paid the $2.80 billion termination fee that Warner Bros owed Netflix, the streaming giant said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
Activist investor Ancora Holdings, which owns a small stake in Warner Bros, had also stepped up pressure on the HBO owner to engage more with Paramount.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have raised concerns that any deal to acquire Warner Bros could result in fewer choices and higher prices for consumers.
Cinema operators are also concerned that combining large Hollywood studios could cost jobs and reduce the number of movies released in theaters.
(Reporting by Karol Badohal in Poland and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shinjini Ganguli)
