The Powers That Be: Daily The Paramount War Room
Dec 11, 2025
Bill Cohan, a seasoned Wall Street journalist and author, joins to dissect the intense bidding war between Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix. They explore Paramount's aggressive tactics and Netflix's strategic patience. Cohan predicts how far the Ellisons might go and analyzes the implications for Warner’s TV assets. He discusses the valuation of linear TV businesses and the risks Netflix may face in its pursuit. The stakes are high, with Cohan contrasting the bidders' strengths and weaknesses, setting the stage for a thrilling financial showdown.
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Sumo Match For WarnerMedia
- The WBD fight is a high-stakes contest between a $400B market-cap Netflix and Larry Ellison's $400B net worth war chest.
- Winning bidder dynamics will reshape strategy, credit profiles, and who ultimately controls legacy TV assets.
Debt Could Push Netflix Into Junk
- If Netflix wins, it may need to take junk-bond levels of debt and move below investment grade to finance the deal.
- That leverage shift could hurt Netflix's credit standing and unsettle investors despite strategic logic for vertical integration.
Pfizer Jumped A Merger Playbook
- Bill recalls Pfizer's hostile jump in 2000 when it overtook an agreed Warner-Lambert merger to win a $110B deal.
- He uses that precedent to suggest a similar hostile-over-top outcome could occur here.
