Paramount improved its Warner Bros. offer to $31 per share

After more than two months and multiple rejections from the Warner Bros. Discovery board, Paramount has, at long last, increased the per-share value of its bid for WBD.

According to Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount has hiked its offer to $31 a share, up a dollar from its previous offer, following its seven-day discussion window with the company.

The WBD board said that the fresh proposal “could reasonably be expected to lead to a ‘Company Superior Proposal’” and that it would engage further with Paramount to see if a deal that is superior to its merger agreement with Netflix can be reached. (WBD said its board has not yet determined whether the offer is superior to Netflix’s.)

Paramount’s revised offer also includes a $0.25 “ticking fee” per quarter beginning after September 30 of this year and a $7 billion termination fee if the deal ultimately doesn’t pass regulatory scrutiny. Should the Warner Bros. board decide to drop Netflix in favor of Paramount, it will be on the hook for a $2.8 billion breakup fee — which Paramount earlier this month said it will cover.

In the statement, Warner Bros. wrote:

“There can be no assurance that the Board will conclude that the transaction proposed by PSKY is superior to the merger with Netflix or that any definitive agreement or transaction will result from WBD’s discussions with PSKY. The Netflix Merger Agreement remains in effect, and the Board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction and is not withdrawing or modifying its recommendation.”

If WBD’s board determines Paramount’s new offer to be a “Company Superior Proposal,” Netflix will have four business days to beat it, match it, or exit the entertainment consolidation-o-rama altogether.

Per reporting by Reuters, Netflix has ample cash to increase its own offer for its streaming rival. Analysts at MoffettNathanson Research last week said they expect Netflix to walk away from Warner Bros. if Paramount’s bid comes in “well beyond” $32.

News of Paramount’s new offer has boosted its odds on prediction markets. As of 4:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, event contracts speculating on which company will ultimately come out on top of the bidding war have Paramount at a 55% chance over Netflix’s 38% odds.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)