Nothing stands in the way of a Hollywood merger: Warner shareholders approve purchase by Paramount

Netflix originally wanted this Warner’s studio and streaming business buy. However, Paramount beat out the streaming market leader with a higher offer for the entire company, including television channels such as CNN.

The future of CNN remains unclear

Paramount, which was acquired last year by the family of Tech billionaire Larry Ellison was taken over, the bid for the Warner Bros. Discovery group improved from 30 to 31 dollars per share. The Warner board of directors then decided that the offer was superior to the previously accepted offer from Netflix. Netflix didn’t want to add more.

Paramount is run by Larry Ellison’s son, film producer David Ellison. He wants to gain weight in Hollywood by taking over Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount is among the smaller players in the industry. Meanwhile, Warner includes, among other things, this DC superhero universe with Superman and Batmanfilm series like „Harry Potter“ as well as a strong streaming business based on the Pay channel HBO.

The bidding war also concerns the fate of the news channel CNN, which often reports critically on US President Donald Trump. Trump said in December that it was important to ensure that CNN would definitely change hands in a deal. Trump critics in the US fear that CNN could lose editorial independence under the Paramount umbrella. The concern is not unfounded: Since the Ellisons took over, the newsroom at the Paramount broadcaster CBS has adopted a friendly tone toward the Trump administration.