Paramount Skydance on Monday amended its takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, but at least one major WBD shareholder was not impressed, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
"The changes in Paramount's new offer were necessary but not sufficient," Alex Fitch, portfolio manager at Harris Oakmark and director of US research, told Reuters after Paramount's new offer was unveiled.
Warner Bros.' fifth-largest shareholder, which as of the end of September owned 96 million shares or about 4% of the stock, said it would wait for more from Paramount, led by David Ellison and backed by Larry Ellison, to have a chance to snatch WBD from the winner of the Netflix bidding war.
"We view these two deals as uncertain, and changing course comes at a cost. If Paramount is serious about winning, they will need to provide a greater incentive," he said.
Addition
On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery advised its shareholders "not to take any action at this time regarding Paramount Skydance's amended tender offer," which now includes a $40.4 billion personal equity financing guarantee from Larry Ellison (Oracle co-founder and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison); an increased termination fee of $5.8 billion; and increased financial flexibility during the transition period.
The main financial terms of Paramount's new offer, Deadline writes, remained the same as in the recently rejected WBD hostile tender offer made on December 8: the acquisition of all outstanding WBD shares at a price of $30 each in cash.