Netflix switches to all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery

The move updates the streamer’s original offer, which was funded using a mix of cash and shares.

In a joint announcement, Netflix and WBD said the change would provide more "certainty" to shareholders and enable them to vote the deal through more quickly.

WBD will hold a special investor meeting to vote on the Netflix deal, which is expected to be held by April 2026.

The modified offer is also designed to fend off Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for the entire WBD business.

Under the original deal, Netflix bid $82.7bn for WBD, offering WBD shareholders $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix common stock.

In a statement, Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, said: "Our revised all-cash agreement will enable an expedited timeline to a stockholder vote and provide greater financial certainty."

Since the deal was announced in December 2025, Netflix shares have fallen almost 15%. As a result, a cash offer has become more attractive to WBD shareholders.

However, Netflix did post a strong performance for the last three months of 2025. The company said revenue in the quarter jumped 18% from a year earlier to more than $12bn, while profits rose nearly 30% to $2.4bn. It also revealed that it now has more than 325 million paying subscribers globally, an increase of more than 7% from a year ago.

If Netflix were to make its offer all-cash, a WBD shareholder vote on the deal could take place as early as late February or early March, rather than in spring or summer as expected. Deals comprised of stock typically take longer.

The news came just days after Paramount Skydance said it was suing WBD and CEO David Zaslav to seek more information about why the company’s board continues to reject its $108.4bn takeover offer in favour of Netflix.

The Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) board recently issued another recommendation that the studio’s shareholders reject a hostile takeover offer from Paramount Skydance. Discover more here.