Paramount filed suit against Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, accusing the WBD board of misleading shareholders and concealing how it valued parts of the company when it approved the sale of Warner Bros. assets to Netflix.
The complaint centers on what Paramount calls missing or incomplete disclosures about the Netflix transaction. In a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders, Paramount CEO David Ellison wrote that the company had “failed to include any disclosure about how it valued the Global Networks stub equity, how it valued the overall Netflix transaction, how the purchase price reduction for debt works in the Netflix transaction, or even what the basis is for its ‘risk adjustment’ of our $30 per share all-cash offer.”
The dispute follows Netflix’s December 5, 2025, announcement of an agreement to buy Warner Bros. assets as part of an $82.7 billion deal. That purchase would cover the studio and streaming businesses, including Warner Bros. Games. Console PC Gaming covered the acquisition announcement in December and the scope of assets involved, you can find the timeline and deal terms in that report on the Netflix transaction.
Financially, the bids differ in structure. Netflix’s proposal pays about $27.75 per share and excludes the cable networks. Paramount offered $30 per share in cash for the entire company. By that math, Paramount argues, the cable networks would be worth roughly $2.25 per share if the streaming and studio valuation from the Netflix deal holds.
Paramount says Warner Bros. Discovery rejected at least eight offers from Paramount during the run-up to and after the Netflix announcement. WBD’s board has said it would reconsider Paramount only if the company offered more cash and reduced the debt component of its proposal. Both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is aimed at forcing disclosure so shareholders can compare offers with fuller information. Beyond the immediate legal fight, the case could affect the timetable for the Netflix transaction and the future business arrangements for Warner Bros. Games and other studio assets.
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