Paramount, which has repeatedly tried to buy Warner Bros. Discovery since late 2025 and now, this company went further than just making another bid. It literally wrote directly to U.S. lawmakers arguing that the Netflix-Warner combination should be considered as "presumptively unlawful" under 'antitrust law'. We all know that, Netflix agreed to buy the movie studios and streaming arm of Warner Bros. Discovery for roughly $82.7–$83 billion and we also know the behavior of Paramount company since then.
Paramount’s legal team claims:
1) The merger would give Netflix even greater dominance in streaming and premium content markets.
2) Netflix’s definition of its competition is flawed (e.g., counting free services like YouTube as substitutes).
3) This deal could reduce consumer choice, consolidate too much market power, and hurt competition overall.
Paramount’s comments were sent to the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee to influence regulators reviewing the deal’s legality.
We all know that after Netflix’s initial deal with Warner Bros. was announced on December 5, 2025, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid, offering about $108 billion in cash, which is more on paper than Netflix's. However, Warner's board rejected the Paramount's offer multiple times (about eight times), saying it was very risky, heavily financed by debt, and inferior in certainty and execution. However, Paramount also argues that its all-cash proposal provides faster closing and greater value for shareholders as well. This includes backing from major investors like 'Larry Ellison' on financing.
Paramount also actively encouraged WBD shareholders to reject the Netflix deal and sell into Paramount's offer, but all these efforts didn't worked out. Because Warner's board repeatedly rejected Paramount's bids, the company just shifted tactics to include legal and political pressure by claiming the Netflix deal could be blocked on antitrust grounds as part of its strategy to stop the Netflix transaction and revive its own bid.
What's still unconfirmed is that, we still don't know whether U.S. regulators (FTC, DOJ) will approve the Netflix-Warner deal or block it on antitrust grounds. It's still unclear that, whether pressure from lawmakers and politicians even including antitrust concerns from both "Democrats" and "Republicans" — will make regulators stricter or not. There's a chance, but it's not confirmed, if Paramount will increase its bid again or the change strategy before the shareholder deadline on January 21, 2026.
In short, Paramount is literally trying to destroy this deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery when the company realizes they are losing and the time of this deal is also getting very close. However, still there's very high probability that this deal will take place. Anyway, what do you guys think of this war? What do you wanna say about Paramount's recent arguments? Do you think this deal will happen? Let us know all your answers in the comments where you can also provide latest news so I can make a breakdown of it.