A hostile bid from Paramount came after Netflix struck a deal with Warner Bros.

A high-stakes bidding war heated up this week when Paramount made a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging a multibillion-dollar Netflix deal to buy the entertainment juggernaut.

By Harshita Mary Varghese, Aditya Soni and Dawn Chmielewski Dec 8 (Reuters) - Paramount Skydance on Monday launched a hostile bid worth $108.4 billion for Warner Bros Discovery, in a last-ditch effort to outbid Netflix and create a media powerhouse that would challenge the dominance of the streaming giant.

Rival efforts from Netflix and Paramount could upend the media industry.

Paramount Skydance Corp. and Netflix Inc. — the entertainment heavyweights locked in a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. — are girding for a battle they predict will stretch well into 2026.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, would be out of a job if a deal is completed with Netflix or Paramount Skydance. Softening the blow: Zaslav stands to get hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and/or stock if WBD completes a sale to either company,

Eywa as his witness, James Cameron has pledged to make movies for theaters so that side of the business stays alive.