Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Netflix has agreed an $83bn takeover of the studios and streaming businesses of Warner Bros Discovery, in a deal set to reshape Hollywood and create a new global entertainment powerhouse.
The deal will transform Netflix into the dominant player in Hollywood, adding one of the biggest libraries of content including franchises such as Harry Potter and Batman, and the premium programming of HBO to its already leading position in the streaming market.
Netflix saw off competition for the businesses from Paramount and Comcast, in an auction overseen by WBD boss David Zaslav.
The cash and stock deal values the businesses at $27.75 per share. The transaction is expected to close after the previously announced separation of WBD’s networks division, Discovery Global, into a new publicly traded company.
This is a developing story


