Pressure mounts as Ellison stakes $40bn for Warner Bros December 23, 2025 In the latest twist in Hollywood’s own corporate soap opera, tech billionaire Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed $40.4bn (£30bn) to support Paramount Skydance’s $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), in a bid to outflank Netflix in the fight for the entertainment giant. Warner Bros urged shareholders last week to reject Paramount’s all-cash offer, citing [...]
Warner Bros to snub Paramount’s takeover in favour of Netflix December 17, 2025 Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is preparing to urge shareholders to reject a $108bn (£81bn) hostile takeover bid from Paramount, after one of its key financial backers pulled out of the deal. Affinity Partners, the investment firm owned by Jared Kushner, said it would no longer support Paramount’s offer, citing a shift in circumstances. “The dynamics [...]
Is Netflix headed for the ‘Adobe effect’? December 11, 2025 Netflix, now the world’s most valuable streaming company, insists it is still in expansion mode. However, its $72bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery last Friday, and the rival, hostile counter-move from Paramount Skydance on Monday, have triggered an uncomfortable question in Hollywood and on Wall Street. Is Netflix wandering into the same trap that humiliated [...]
Netflix $72bn Warner offer: ‘I never saw it coming’ says co-founder Marc Randolph December 10, 2025 Netflix’s former CEO and co-founder, Marc Randolph, said the $72bn bid by his former company last week for Warner Bros.’ film studios and streaming business, “came as a shock”. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Randolph told the audience, “I will confess I never saw that [move] coming. I haven’t worked at Netflix for quite [...]
Netflix holds Hollywood’s crown, but at what cost? December 9, 2025 If you have so much as glanced at any headlines in the past few days, you will have seen that Hollywood is entering a new era of streaming consolidation, with Netflix leading the way. The US giant has agreed a mega $72bn (£54bn) deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s film and TV studios, HBO Max, [...]
Paramount crashes Netflix-Warner Bros party with £108bn rival bid December 8, 2025 Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), throwing the film titan’s recent deal with streaming giant Netflix into uncertainty. On Monday, Paramount said its all-cash tender offer of $30 (£22.50) per share provides shareholders $18bn more than Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer. Paramount chief executive David Ellison argued the [...]
Piers Morgan lands $30m backing as Uncensored goes global December 6, 2025 Piers Morgan is closing in on roughly $30m (£22.5m) in new funding to expand his YouTube venture, Uncensored, into a fully fledged global media business. The deal would value the operation at about $130m (£97m). Sky News revealed that the new investors include US merchant bank The Raine Group, whose co-founder Joe Ravitch, a key [...]
Netflix snaps up Warner Bros in blockbuster £54bn deal December 5, 2025 Netflix has clinched a blockbuster deal to take over Warner Bros in a major shake-up of the film and streaming industry. In an announcement on Friday, it was formally announced that Netflix would take over the major streaming and film company Warner Bros in an agreement worth $72bn (£54bn). Should the deal pass regulatory checks, [...]
Harry Potter Studios Tour profit spikes ahead of expansion October 6, 2025 Profit at Warner Bros’ Harry Potter Studios Tour near London has spiked ahead of a major expansion project opening. The business behind Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter has reported a pre-tax profit of £113.4m for 2024. The latest total, published in new accounts filed with Companies House, comes after [...]
Harry Potter TV series maker falls into the red as shooting starts July 17, 2025 A company run by the new co-producer of the James Bond franchise entered the red ahead of starting work on the new Harry Potter TV series, it has been revealed. Heyday Television is a joint venture between Heyday Films, which was founded in 1996 by producer David Heyman, and Universal International Studios. In March this [...]