Paramount sues in hostile bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery

Paramount Skydance filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery over its bid to buy the company. Photo / Getty Images

Paramount Skydance says it has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) as it presses an unwelcomed bid to buy the company.

Paramount’s suit seeks to compel the WBD board to provide certain information to shareholders that it argues will cast its offer in a more favourable light.

The suit, and a letter to WBD shareholders by Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison, are the latest moves in a saga spanning several months.

Television and film titan WBD put out word in late October that it was open to acquisition offers, with its board subsequently accepting a bid by streaming giant Netflix.

WBD formally rejected an offer from Paramount Skydance for the entire company.

The Netflix offer favoured by the board does not include buying WBD television properties such as CNN and Discovery, which would belong to a newly created and publicly traded company called Global Networks if the deal is sealed.

Paramount Skydance accuses the WBD board of failing to present shareholders with details needed to properly compare its offer to the Netflix bid.

“We are committed to seeing our tender offer through,” Ellison said in the letter to shareholders.

“If WBD calls a special meeting before its annual meeting to vote on the Netflix Agreement, Paramount will solicit proxies against such approval.”

Paramount Skydance will try to get several representatives elected to the WBD board at the annual meeting as shareholders to strengthen its position.

The suit was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which specialises in business and financial matters.

- Agencies France-Presse