Netflix Inks $83 Billion Deal to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery

(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP photo)

Netflix has emerged as the winner of a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, striking an $83 billion deal to acquire the iconic studio and its massive catalogue of streaming content.

The deal, announced Friday, will become official after the separation of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, CNN reported.

Netflix will also obtain HBO and HBO Max in the deal.

“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, said in a statement. “By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”

The acquisition comes after an intense bidding war for WBD, which included suitors like Paramount and Comcast.

On Thursday, Paramount Skydance accused Warner Bros. Discovery of overseeing a “tilted and unfair” bidding process that it claims is biased toward Netflix in a scathing letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav.

In the letter, published by CNBC, lawyers for Paramount warned the media giant that it appeared to have “abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process” in pursuit of a predetermined outcome, citing media reports that Warner executives have “warmed” decisively to Netflix and see “chemistry” between the companies’ leadership teams.

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