Warner Bros. Reopens Talks as Paramount Signals Higher Bid

Feb 17, 2026

Guest

Bill Smead

Guest

Max Abelson

Guest

Mark Gurman

Bill Smead, founder and CIO at Smead Capital Management, offers a market historian’s take on AI-driven investing. Max Abelson, Bloomberg finance reporter, digs into the newly released DOJ files and Leon Black’s ties to Epstein. Mark Gurman, Bloomberg tech editor, previews Apple’s AI wearables, Siri updates, and product timelines. They discuss bidding drama at Warner Bros., massive document processing, and AI market mania.

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INSIGHT

Reopened Bidding Could Raise The Price

Paramount offered at least $31 a share and Warner Bros. reopened talks to see the offer in writing.
Warner Bros. still recommends the Netflix deal but will weigh a superior written bid and allow Netflix to match it.

INSIGHT

Incumbent Advantage Shapes The Duel

Paramount's bid is backed by Larry Ellison and could escalate the auction if they go materially higher.
Netflix as incumbent only needs to match equivalent terms, so small increases may be met and big ones could force a swap.

INSIGHT

Apple's Wearables Strategy Hinges On Siri

Apple is building multiple AI wearables: pendant, AirPods, and smart glasses with different cameras and tiers.
All launches hinge on a significantly improved Siri (code-named Campo) and Gemini model integration.

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Warner Bros Discovery Inc. has agreed to reopen negotiations with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance Corp. after the suitor proposed raising its bid and sweetened other terms of its offer, setting the stage for a renewed showdown with Netflix.

Netflix, which Warner Bros. still described as its preferred bidder, has granted the board seven days to discuss Paramount’s most recent proposal, according to a statement Tuesday. The decision came after a Paramount banker told a Warner Bros. board member that Paramount would offer at least $31 a share, or $1 a share higher than its previous offer, if the company agreed to reopen talks. Warner Bros. now wants to see that, and other aspects of Paramount’s new bid, in writing.

Warner Bros. said the board still unanimously recommends shareholders vote in favor of its binding agreement to sell its namesake studios and HBO Max streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 a share, or $72 billion. Paramount’s all-cash $77.9 billion bid, which is backed by billionaire Larry Ellison, is for the entirety of Warner Bros., including its cable TV channels such as CNN and TNT that are otherwise planned to be spun off under a deal with Netflix. Warner Bros. has scheduled a shareholder vote on the Netflix deal for March 20.

The decision to reengage with Paramount, which confirms Bloomberg’s reporting Sunday, adds another twist in the long drawn-out saga over control of one of Hollywood’s most iconic properties. The fight for Warner Bros., the century-old studio behind films from Casablanca to Batman, and hit TV series like Friends, is one of the biggest media deals in years and has the power to reshape the entertainment industry.

Today's show features:

Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Media & Entertainment Lucas Shaw and Bloomberg News Senior M&A Reporter Michelle Davis on Warner Bros. Reopens Talks as Paramount Signals Higher Bid
Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Global Consumer Tech Mark Gurman on Apple Ramps Up Work on Glasses, Pendant and Camera AirPods (CLEAN UP LINE DROP)
Bloomberg News Finance Reporter Max Abelson on The Leon Black Files: Epstein Was Fixer for His Deepest Secrets
Drive to the Close with Bill Smead, Founder, Chairman and CIO of Smead Capital Management, on the energy market and his stock pick

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