• Warner Bros Discovery unanimously rejects Paramount's latest $108 billion takeover bid.
• The board favors a $72 billion agreement with Netflix, deeming it superior.
• Paramount's offer involves risky debt financing that raises concerns about its feasibility.
• Warner Bros emphasizes the significant costs and risks associated with the Paramount deal.
• The ongoing battle for Warner Bros is seen as pivotal in the media and entertainment landscape.

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has once again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, maintaining that the revised offer of $108.4 billion is inadequate and fraught with risks, particularly due to its heavy dependence on debt financing. In a letter to shareholders, WBD's board emphasized that the offer does not serve the best interests of its shareholders, reaffirming its support for a $72 billion merger with Netflix, which it describes as a more reliable deal that mitigates financial risks, according to SCMP and BBC.

The Warner Bros board found significant shortcomings in Paramount's proposal, particularly the extraordinary debt financing that could saddle WBD with over $87 billion in debt, marking it as one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. The board asserted that the Paramount bid "remains inadequate" as it creates a high-risk scenario for closing the deal, something it does not observe with the deal from Netflix, which has a much stronger financial backing, according to India Times, HuffPost, and Le Monde.

In light of the Paramount offer, the Warner Bros board outlined the substantial costs it would incur if it accepted the bid, including a $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix and additional financing costs totaling approximately $4.7 billion. The board highlighted that these factors contribute to its determination that the Netflix agreement remains a stronger choice for shareholders, emphasizing that Paramount's capacity to close the deal is uncertain, thereby increasing the overall risk to WBD and its stakeholders, as stated by Al Jazeera and India Times.

The ongoing bidding war for Warner Bros has intensified attention on the media landscape, with both Netflix and Paramount vying for the rights to its expansive film and television studios. The board maintained that Paramount's proposal includes significant operational restrictions that would hinder WBD's business capabilities, which emphasizes the potential downsides of accepting the lower-value offer from Paramount, according to HuffPost and SCMP.