Netflix Agrees to Buy Warner Bros. Studio and HBO Max in $72 Billion Deal

Netflix agreed on Friday to buy the film and television studios and streaming business of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a deal valued at about $72 billion in equity and about $82.7 billion including debt, according to CNBC and PBS NewsHour (via The Associated Press). The price works out to $27.75 per Warner share, both outlets reported.

CNBC reported that shareholders would receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix stock for each Warner share. What Netflix is buying includes the Warner Bros. film studio, HBO and HBO Max, and DC Studios, the outlets reported. Before the sale closes, Warner will go ahead with a previously planned separation of its cable operations, including CNN, TNT and Discovery, into a new public company called Discovery Global, expected in the third quarter of 2026, according to both outlets. Closing is expected 12 to 18 months after the announcement, they reported.

The deal ended a contest for Warner’s assets. According to CNBC, Paramount Skydance had made several bids, the last of them $30 per share in all cash for the whole company, and Paramount questioned the “fairness and adequacy” of the sale process and argued that Warner favored Netflix. The AP also reported that Paramount, led by David Ellison, had made multiple all-cash offers and that Comcast had shown interest. CNBC reported that Paramount raised antitrust concerns in a letter to Warner management.

The agreement includes breakup fees, CNBC reported: Netflix would pay $5.8 billion if the deal fails to win regulatory approval, and Warner would pay $2.8 billion if it walks away to pursue a different merger. Both companies’ boards approved it unanimously, according to CNBC. CNBC reported that Netflix had more than 300 million global subscribers at the end of 2024, its last public count, and Warner had 128 million as of Sept. 30.

Both outlets said the combination is likely to draw antitrust scrutiny because it would put Netflix and HBO Max under one roof. Cinema United, a trade group the AP said represents more than 30,000 U.S. movie screens, called the deal an “unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business.” Its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said Netflix’s business model does not support theatrical exhibition and urged regulators to scrutinize the transaction, according to the AP. The AP reported that Netflix pledged to keep releasing Warner studio films in theaters and to honor existing release agreements.

Executives struck an upbeat tone. Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav said the combination would ensure people “will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come,” according to the AP. Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos told CNBC, “Over the years, we have been known to be builders, not buyers,” and called the purchase “a rare opportunity.” The AP noted that in October Sarandos had said Netflix had “no interest in owning legacy media networks,” though he did not fully rule out a bid for Warner.

CNBC disclosed that its parent company, Comcast, was among the interested parties.