New York, United States: Netflix announced on Friday that it has agreed to acquire film and television giant Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal worth nearly $83 billion, marking the entertainment industry’s largest consolidation of the decade.
The agreement, which is expected to draw close scrutiny from the Trump administration’s regulators and has already drawn criticism from prominent Hollywood figures, will give Netflix control of Warner Bros.’ extensive film library and the well-known streaming platform HBO Max.
However, the deal excludes major cable networks including CNN, TNT, TBS and Discovery, which Warner Bros. Discovery plans to spin off ahead of the transaction’s completion.
Warner Bros., one of Hollywood’s oldest studios, is behind cinematic classics such as Casablanca and Citizen Kane, along with modern hits like The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and the Harry Potter franchise. Netflix, meanwhile, has produced global successes including Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Games.
“We can offer audiences even more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in the announcement.
The previous biggest entertainment deal was Disney’s $71 billion purchase of Fox in 2019.
The Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery transaction values the company at $27.75 per share, with an equity value of approximately $72 billion and an enterprise value of about $82.7 billion when debt is included. Netflix shares fell more than three percent on Friday amid mixed reactions to the takeover.
“This brings together two of the world’s great storytelling companies,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said. The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the agreement, which is expected to close in 12 to 18 months.
Some analysts warned the combined company could become an overwhelming force in the entertainment business. Kathleen Brooks of XTB said the merger would make Netflix “a colossus in the TV and movie business,” adding that antitrust concerns were likely.
Regulators in the United States — and possibly in other markets — are expected to examine the deal closely. According to the New York Post, White House officials have privately voiced concern that Netflix could gain too much power in the domestic content market.
Warner Bros. Discovery put itself up for sale in October after receiving several unsolicited offers, pausing an earlier plan to split the company into separate streaming and cable entities. Paramount, now owned by the family of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, had initially shown interest, along with Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal.
Bloomberg reported that Netflix has been arranging a multibillion-dollar bridge loan to help finance the acquisition. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names have openly opposed the deal, arguing that Netflix’s streaming-first strategy could threaten theatrical releases. Director James Cameron described the prospect of a Netflix takeover as “a disaster.”
Netflix has insisted it will continue Warner Bros.’ theatrical release strategy and increase U.S. content production, even as the company maintains that the traditional movie theater era is fading.
The move comes amid sweeping changes across Hollywood as streaming competition intensifies and traditional media continues to decline. In 2021, Amazon bought MGM for $8.45 billion, adding over 4,000 films — including the James Bond and Rocky franchises — to its catalog.
