Dec 18 (Reuters) – Harris Associates, the fifth largest shareholder in Warner Bros Discovery, said on Thursday it would be “very open” to a revised offer from Paramount Skydance if the company presents a superior bid and addresses issues with deal terms.
Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid earlier this week, calling the offer “illusory” as it accused the studio giant of misleading shareholders about its financing.
Alex Fitch, portfolio manager at Harris Associates, which owns about a 3.9% stake in Warner Bros Discovery, said in an email to Reuters that “as things stand today, we think the Netflix and Paramount offers are comparable on value but that the Netflix offer is superior on deal terms.”
“The good news is that the concerns on deal terms seem entirely addressable. If Paramount decides to come forward with superior financial consideration and properly addresses the issues with deal terms, we would be very open to a revised Paramount offer. The ball is in their court,” Fitch added.
Paramount and Netflix have been in a race to win control of Warner Bros’ prized film and television studios, HBO Max streaming service and franchises like “Harry Potter.”
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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