![]() We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Greetings!Paramount has mounted a comeback for the ages. On Thursday, the entire conclusion of the months-long Warner Bros. Discovery M&A saga played out in a span of hours, a day that started with a trickle of news quickly escalating into a tsunami. Warner Bros. declared Paramount’s amended bid the “superior proposal,” prompting Netflix to throw in the towel shortly after. “We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world,” Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said. For Paramount, this marks an impressive turnaround for a company that was largely written off after lashing out at Warner Bros. for a supposedly unfair bidding process and then launching a hostile bid with seemingly little traction. But CEO David Ellison chipped away, getting past the bad blood and getting a hand from Warner Bros. shareholders to finally get the board’s attention. “We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing,” Ellison said in a statement issued before Netflix bowed out. But for Netflix, the regulatory pressure was ultimately too much. President Trump, who has flipped back and forth on his involvement, appeared to put his thumb on the scale over the weekend, calling on Netflix to fire board member and former UN ambassador Susan Rice, a Democrat, or face “consequences.” The Department of Justice also opened an anti-trust investigation into the Netflix deal, talking to theater owners, filmmakers and producers across Hollywood to gather their input for its review. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos was in D.C. today meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susan Wiles. Presumably, those meetings did not go well. It's been a whipsaw day but stay with TheWrap as we process this latest turn and what it means for the industry. Roger Cheng
It's a good time to be Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav...
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