Approx. $82.7B (with an equity value of $72B) deal closed between Streaming Giant Netflix and Warner Bros. film and streaming assets

Netflix brought an end to the race of rivals vying for Warner Bros. Discovery legacy and assets by announcing this deal on Friday.

Netflix is set to acquire WBD’s film studio and streaming service, HBO Max, along with Warner Bros. Discovery Global, including its entire archive of pay TV networks as per prior plans. 

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The transaction is valued at $27.75 per WBD share, according to sources and sets the total value of the enterprise at approximately $82.7 billion, with an equity value of $72 billion.  

This deal combines two industry giants which have dominated the entertainment market in the past. Netflix, already more than a staple in the modern digital diet, now claims the expansive library of Warner Bros. film studio which includes “Casablanca,” “The Wizard of Oz,” the “Harry Potter” and “F.R.I.E.N.D.S” franchise as well as the DC comics multiverse and HBO Max hit series, “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones.”

According to a news-release statement by Netflix co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, the company looks forward to combining the archives of Warner Bro. film studios with Netflix’s “culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game” to go on and “define the next century of storytelling.”  (Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/05/neflix-warner-bros-discovery-deal.html)

This transaction is a bold move, especially considering Netflix’s previous stance of preferring organic growth over enterprise acquisitions. The deal is expected to go through regulatory approval before coming to close in the third quarter of 2026.

As part of the deal every Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in shares of Netflix common stock for each share of WBD common stock outstanding following the close of the deal.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/05/neflix-warner-bros-discovery-deal.html

The deal thus enables Netflix to gain immediate control over an industry standard, one of Hollywood’s biggest and prestigious studios. Netflix will also acquire complete global theatrical networks and handle decades worth of paid content.

A three-in-one strategic win, Netflix eliminates major competitors, gains valuable intellectual property and thus, takes the same off the market, causing a dramatic shift in the entertainment industry power dynamics.

However, there is still a-ways-to-go before the completion of this transaction. Sources state that Netflix included a whopping 5 billion breakup fee as precaution which caught the scrutiny of the Department of Justice, while the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United have expressed public opposition to this merger stating fears that it poses a threat to theatre-moviegoing culture. Netflix has supposedly assured Warner Bros. Discovery leadership that it would respect existing theatrical norms.

The deal is to clear regulatory obstacles in the major markets before completion.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/netflix-is-buying-warner-bros-discover-for-82-7-billion-gaining-hbo-and-franchises-like-game-of-thrones-dc-comics/articleshow/125789196.cms