Warner Bros has rebuffed Paramount’s takeover approach due to initial offers being too low, according to a Bloomberg report.
People close to the matter told Bloomberg that Warner Bros rejected Paramount’s offer of around US$20 per share in recent weeks.
Paramount is exploring multiple avenues in its pursuit of Warner Bros, including increasing its offer, appealing directly to shareholders, or securing extra support from a financial partner.
David Ellison now leads Paramount after taking over in August after following a $8 billion merger with his film production company Skydance Media.
Paramount has also been in alternative talks with asset manager Apollo Global Management.
While not directly speaking on the potential Warner Bros merger, Ellison made a case for more industry mergers at the Bloomberg Screentime conference. He said his interest was in making more films and TV shows to boost subscriptions for the Paramount+ streaming service.
At the time of writing, Warner Bros (NASDAQ: WBD) shares were down 3.32% to $17.10, and Paramount (NASDAQ: PSKY) shares were down 5.40% to $17.
