Major Media Move: Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. for ~$82.7B | Moelis/WF Advises NFLX ; Evercore/JPM/Allen Advises WBD
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Unfortunately this is not about the merits of good library. Likely trade will be Netflix execs making a deal at Mar-a-lago and getting it through. Paramount guys have an in with the administration, so this is just about connections. I don't know what Comcast was even thinking 😅
Comcast needs this the most, no? They have to put their hat in the ring for any potential opportunity to expand and this would be absolutely game changing. I think most analysts believe/believed the one who will take this home will be the one who needs it the most (Comcast). Looks like back to square 1 and do what they can with Peacock.
True. As you can see from the Commander-in-chief, he will "be involved", so it was always going to be more political than just money or logic. Interesting times ahead!
Interesting perspective. If this really comes down to connections rather than merit, it raises questions about how much strategy and content quality actually matter in these deals.
It does matter but as you can see from the news, it's got to the point of absurdity. A little paranormal movie in its own 👀
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It’s called having one of the best media practices. Not rocket science…
yeah for sure, I was expecting a GS or MS to be advising as well but they are the sole advisors with WF taking a minor role and providing the financing
It was an auction lol. Why would there be multiple advisors (financing providers don’t count) Moelis thought Netflix was the top buyer and won the mandate and won the deal at the end. Moelis for the most part is a MM-UMM PE sellside grinder, but their media team is an exception.
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Heck yeah WF on top. Preparing to get clapped tho.
I pray for the juniors at MOE in LA.
Insanely impressive mandate win, though.
If this gets approved our current admin is a joke
So approving a media merger will convince you of this, but not the president’s children enriching himself and his colleagues every day? Witkoff, Kushner, Lutnick…
Set aside the advisory piece for a second. I would just like to be a fly on the wall in the Netflix talks on how they persuaded WB to go with them when it seems like they clearly have the most treacherous road to overcoming Anti-trust vs. Paramount given their ties with the current administration (CBS changes, Melania doc, Rush hour 4 lmao, etc.). Also, interesting letter from Paramount yesterday… https://fortune.com/2025/12/04/paramount-warner-brothers-discovery-bidding-netflix-tained-sale-process-letter-zaslav/
is media at EVR ran through MP or NY?
Well given that there is no media team at EVR MP I am going to take a wild guess and say NY
Wells and Moelis actually had equal share of fee on this deal. Both took home around 40 MM according to LSEG.
Edited. Thank you for this.
JPM advised WB?
Yeah, didn't see this until later. The trio of Allen, Evercore, and JPM.
Was on the other side of this one, and FWIW the modelling was done by Allen&Co.
There was equal economics to Moelis and WF on this. The prestige circlejerking on WSO from prospects and insecure juniors who base their entire self-worth on the tier of their bank has to stop. WF has succeeded in making in great hires and buliidng out their franchise by investing strategically in hires.
Heard from someone that WF actually did more than Moelis. All these youngsters worship a logo.
MOE led the process on the advisory side. But correct WF shared equal economics and is leading the financing. A great outcome for both banks and frankly to be expected given the banks’ relative capabilities & expertise.
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Why do the UBS people on this forum make everything about their singular firm. WS and the world doesn't revolve around UBS like WSO would like you to believe.
Edit: why am I getting downvoted for this? I know the comment wad deleted but it was just commenting that UBS wasn't on it. Some people really want to make this the UBS-centric forum.
kind of a big difference from a junior perspective if you want to do M&A though no? given moelis led all of the advisory work with Wells mainly there for financing
equal economics means that WF also contributed substantially for advisory. You wouldn't get equal economics if you only did financing.
What are the fees looking like for EVR/JPM/Allen?
Allen: 30.08
JPM: 33.29
EVR: 33.29
Allen is insane
I think there's an argument to be made that the streaming industry is so fragmented that it has become annoying. I don't want to get Peacock and Hulu to watch this show and Tubi, Nutty, Goopi, and Shaftstick to watch these other shows. And then I'm paying $100 a month for YouTube TV and don't even get NFL games from my OWN division FFS, so I gotta pay extra for NFL whatever the fuck it is. And then there's AppleTV for this new show, and Paramount for this other one, and on and on and on.
Not saying this is the solution, but god damn is it a mess for the consumer regardless.
Behold, the recreation of the cable package, with no channels!
So real.
Paramount announced $30 all cash tender offer, largest hostile tender in historic
Seems wining banks might be reshuffled
Win win for Allen/Evercore/JPM
Sell side always best role
Paramount is acquiring 100% of the business. IMO it doesn’t matter what Paramount submits, they are not the preferred bidder, hostile or not
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Yes i agree but apart of that duty of care is selecting a buyer who is credible
Is Paramount credible?
Congrats on moelis la
btw, who is paramount's financial advisor? has it been confirmed?
CVP
Para is advised by Centerview, Citi and BofA. That’s advisory too. Citi and BofA are also providing financing. This is all public. It’s not just centerview.
M. Klein is also an advisor for Paramount
All the real work and analysis is center view. Look at the format of the paramount slides - clearly made by cvp. for PSKY’s last two deals CVP was only one actually presenting to the Board and I’d bet everything it’s the same this time. M Klein is getting a relationship cut as usual
Happy for the person I know in WF TMT, was quite bullish on the team when he joined awhile back. Hope he's on this deal!
on one hand, you have a bland film studio that films everything overseas to save moeny, and on the other hand, you get the censorship from saudis and qataris
so lovely! win win for none of the consumers
If anything, part of this makes me think it's more about CNN than creating a producing, IP & streaming powerhouse. Ellison & the MAGA guys clearly would love to overhaul it in a direction sympathetic to Trump. Saw a comment on the FT, which best describes Paramount's bid:
'So a company with a $16bn market cap and $30bn of liabilities is bidding to take over a company with a $68bn market cap and $69tr of liabilities in a largely debt funded deal that adds even more leverage on top. Someone is likely not going to get what they think they are owed'
Will there be scrutiny on Kushner's role and his ME funding? His father-in-law may conveniently look the other way...
Michael Klein will be involved somewhere
lol you called it!
This deal is definitely huge. Regulators will likely scrutinize it closely due to potential antitrust concerns, especially around market consolidation and control of streaming content. If it goes through, Disney and Apple might have to rethink content strategy and pricing, while Amazon could either see opportunities for expansion or face tougher competition. Paramount could benefit if smaller players get squeezed, but overall, this could accelerate consolidation in the streaming industry so yes, we might be approaching the endgame of the streaming wars.
LionTree just got named as an advisor to Paramount omg
LionTree EB now?
M Klein also which was surprising
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