Add source Login
Netflix Walks Away From Warner Bros Deal, Paramount Set to Take Over

Netflix Walks Away From Warner Bros Deal, Paramount Set to Take Over

Netflix has dropped out of the takeover battle for Warner Bros. Discovery, putting Paramount Skydance on course to win the whole WBD business. The world's largest streaming service had been pegged to land a deal in which it would acquire Warner Bros., HBO, and HBO Max in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $72 billion in equity and $82.7 billion, including debt. But after Paramount submitted a final offer, valuing WBD at $111bn including debt, Netflix declined to match it. In an announcement on Thursday, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said: The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid. We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.' iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price. Netflix shares surged by 8.5% in after-hours trading, indicating relief among investors that the streaming company has not risked overpaying for Warner Bros. Warner's board said Thursday night that it still recommends Netflix's offer, but now views Paramount's bid as "superior" – its first sign of backing for the suitor that it labeled hostile when the takeover battle began in December. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said that Paramount's offer "will create tremendous value," and that WBD was "excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery." Assuming Paramount's takeover is successful, it will give its owner Larry Ellison (a friend of Donald Trump) ownership of not only Warner Bros. and HBO, but also news channels CNN and CBS News. However, the deal still needs regulatory approval, so nothing is for certain just yet. Tags: HBO , Netflix , Warner Brothers This article, " Netflix Walks Away From Warner Bros Deal, Paramount Set to Take Over " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

Netflix Abandons Warner Bros. Buyout, Paving Way For Paramount Takeover

Netflix Abandons Warner Bros. Buyout, Paving Way For Paramount Takeover

Late last year, Netflix struck a deal with Warner Bros. to purchase most of the company's assets for $82 billion. Now, Netflix has chosen to abandon that deal rather than match the higher offer made by Paramount. That paves the way for Paramount to become the new owner of Warner Bros. Discovery, pending stockholder and regulatory approval. For the better part of two months, Warner Bros. refused to engage with Paramount, which briefly led the latter to file a lawsuit against the rival studio. Earlier this month, Netflix granted Warner Bros. a one-week period to reopen negotiations with Paramount . The Warner Bros. board subsequently decided that Paramount's higher offer was the better deal, and Netflix declined to keep bidding. "We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.' iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the US," said Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter ). But this transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price." Continue Reading at GameSpot

The scenery steals the show in this epic SpaceX rocket landing

The scenery steals the show in this epic SpaceX rocket landing

Well, those Falcon 9 landings never get old. Imagine, just over a decade ago the idea of being able to land a rocket upright after it’d been to space seemed crazy. And then SpaceX went and did it. Following its first successful touchdown in December 2015, SpaceX suffered the occasional mishap with its booster landings, […] The post The scenery steals the show in this epic SpaceX rocket landing appeared first on Digital Trends .

Sources: two members of Thinking Machines Lab's founding team, Christian Gibson and Noah Shpak, left the startup and have been working at Meta for a few weeks (Business Insider)

Sources: two members of Thinking Machines Lab's founding team, Christian Gibson and Noah Shpak, left the startup and have been working at Meta for a few weeks (Business Insider)

Business Insider : Sources: two members of Thinking Machines Lab's founding team, Christian Gibson and Noah Shpak, left the startup and have been working at Meta for a few weeks —  - Two founding team members left Thinking Machines Lab for Meta in recent weeks.  — The exits add to a wave of departures from the high-profile $12 billion AI startup.

Dario Amodei says Anthropic cannot "in good conscience" accede to DOD's request to remove safeguards and will work to ensure a smooth transition if offboarded (Anthropic)

Dario Amodei says Anthropic cannot "in good conscience" accede to DOD's request to remove safeguards and will work to ensure a smooth transition if offboarded (Anthropic)

Anthropic : Dario Amodei says Anthropic cannot “in good conscience” accede to DOD's request to remove safeguards and will work to ensure a smooth transition if offboarded —  I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries.