David Zaslav has emerged as a formidable dealmaker in Hollywood’s most contentious bidding war. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO has maintained a firm stance against Paramount Skydance‘s increasingly sweetened takeover offers, betting billions on his Netflix partnership instead. Inside Paramount’s war room, frustration is mounting as the company runs out of patience with WBD’s repeated rejections of ever-improving bids.
🔥 Quick Facts
- $108.4 billion is Paramount Skydance’s amended all-cash hostile bid for entire Warner Bros. Discovery
- Netflix offered $72 billion for studio and streaming assets with $15 billion in debt attached to cable properties
- Paramount Skydance has sweetened offers multiple times since December 8, 2025 when hostile bid launched
- David Zaslav is believed to be considering bids starting at $34 per share before rejecting Paramount’s latest offer
The Netflix Deal Zaslav Chose Over Paramount
Intuit emerges as best software stock for 2026 while stock crashes to bargain levels analysts didn’t expect
2026 tax brackets shock Americans with hidden paycheck truth nobody expected
On December 5, 2025, David Zaslav and the Warner Bros. Discovery board announced a definitive agreement with Netflix for approximately $72 billion in value. This deal covers the studio, HBO, HBO Max, and related streaming assets. The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, during which WBD will pursue a previously planned separation of its cable networks division into a new entity called Discovery Global.
The Netflix partnership positions Zaslav to become a billionaire through his equity stake in the resulting company. Critics argue that Paramount Skydance’s offer is superior because it covers the entire company, including valuable cable properties like CNN and TNT, rather than just the studio and streaming components. Paramount also contends it faces less regulatory scrutiny than Netflix, which would combine the number one and three streaming services globally.
Paramount Skydance’s Growing Frustration With Zaslav’s Rejections
Marcus Lemonis takes CEO role at Bed Bath & Beyond with $25M cost-cutting plan and watch what industry experts are saying about his next move
SPX surges 34 points at open with shocking tech recovery, here’s what caused the unexpected Venezuela rally
According to reporting from the New York Post published January 3, 2026, inside the Paramount Skydance camp there is a running joke about what excuse Warner Bros. Discovery will come up with next to reject PSKY’s latest sweetened offer. One team member quipped they expect WBD to claim they don’t like the type of paper the offer is written on, highlighting deep frustration at repeated rejections.
The anger is mounting at Zaslav and his board for what Paramount views as an unfair process favoring Netflix from the start. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, backed by his father Larry Ellison‘s $240 billion Oracle fortune and partnership with RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale, continues pursuing what he believes is a superior offer to shareholders. The company has already considered litigation, viewing the bidding process as potentially rigged against their interests.
The Multiple Sweetened Offers Zaslav Has Rejected
| Paramount’s Offer Stage | Details |
| Initial Bid (September 2025) | $19 per share before Zaslav created bidding war |
| Zaslav’s Counteroffer | $30 per share demanded for entire company |
| Second Paramount Sweetening | All-cash offer with Larry Ellison personal guarantee and $2.8 billion Netflix breakup fee coverage |
| Latest Amended Bid (December 2025) | $108.4 billion all-cash for entire Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Zaslav’s Implied Target | $34 per share keeps coming from Zaslav’s mouth to intermediaries |
According to insiders familiar with negotiations, Zaslav first demanded $30 per share from Paramount Skydance, which the Ellison camp accepted. Team Zaslav then demanded all-cash and required Larry Ellison to personally guarantee the entire offer plus cover the $2.8 billion breakup fee WBD owed Netflix. The Ellisons agreed to those terms, yet the board still rejected their latest proposal in late December ahead of January meetings.
Why Zaslav Might Eventually Succumb to Paramount’s Pressure
Charlie Gasparino of the New York Post, who has covered this deal from the beginning, suggests cooler heads will likely prevail. Zaslav has been publicly praising Larry Ellison as a great businessman and commending David Ellison for his dealmaking prowess and credits like Top Gun: Maverick. Meanwhile, Zaslav keeps mentioning $34 per share to media people, with those words making their way back to the Ellisons.
If Paramount Skydance reaches $34 per share, it would represent a significant increase from the current Netflix deal valuation of approximately $27.75 per share when accounting for the debt-laden cable stub. Industry observers believe the Ellisons sweeten their offer to this level or higher before Zaslav accepts, creating a deal he cannot refuse while maintaining his carefully crafted dealmaker reputation throughout the industry.
What Does This Bidding War Mean for Hollywood’s Future?
The Paramount Skydance versus Netflix battle for Warner Bros. Discovery represents the largest media industry consolidation since the streaming wars began in earnest. The outcome will determine whether Hollywood continues as a Netflix-dominated ecosystem with traditional studios as production arms, or whether Paramount Skydance can maintain independent studio operations alongside streaming capabilities.
Zaslav’s firm stance has pushed valuations from $19 per share into the low-to-mid-30s range, benefiting shareholders dramatically but also testing patience from one of the world’s wealthiest families and most experienced dealmakers. The situation involves Larry Ellison’s $240 billion fortune, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, banking titans, and some of Hollywood’s largest egos, making unpredictable outcomes entirely possible. Whether Zaslav wins or Paramount Skydance forces a resolution through litigation remains genuinely uncertain as January 2026 negotiations heat up.
Patrick Graham is a business and finance journalist translating Wall Street’s complexities into stories that matter to everyday readers. With extensive experience in financial journalism and economic analysis, this expert journalist provides sharp insights on market trends, corporate developments, and the economic forces affecting daily life. His reporting helps readers make sense of the business world’s biggest moves.