The dispute over the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The court denies Paramount's motion
A Delaware court ruled Thursday that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is not obliged to disclose details regarding the sale of part of the company or the terms of the agreement with Netflix. A request for this information was submitted by Paramount Skydance, which is also seeking to acquire WBD.
Judge Morgan Zurn rejected Paramount's request to expedite the trial, emphasizing that the company had not proven that it would have suffered irreparable harm as a result of WBD's alleged failure to disclose information, the Wall Street Journal reported. Zurn added that Paramount has other ways to obtain this information.
Battle to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. “An ostrich with its head in the sand”
Paramount took the case to court earlier this week. The company's president, David Ellison, emphasized that WBD refuses to provide data regarding the transaction with Netflix. The dispute concerns, among others, the method of valuation of the entire operation and the value of the segment including television channels, including TVN, which is to remain in the hands of the current owners.
Paramount asked the court to expedite the motion because its offer to WBD expires on Wednesday, January 21. At the same time, the company announced on Thursday that it plans to extend the validity period of the proposal.
See also: Race for Warner Bros. Netflix is preparing a big deal
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, representatives of Paramount and Warner exchanged insults during Thursday's court hearing. Lawyers representing Paramount said Warner was behaving like an “ostrich with its head in the sand.” Warner representatives, in turn, argued that Paramount was “trying to close the film set before filming is completed.”
See also: The fate of TVN may turn out to be even different. Warner Bros. Discovery at the center of the game for billions
Warner Bros. Discovery agreed last month to sell the streaming and film studios portion of the company to Netflix for $82.7 billion. The management board of WBD rejected Paramount's alternative offer to Netflix to acquire the company. Paramount submitted an offer valued at PLN 108.4 billion for the entire company. He suggested that he could increase the value of the offer, but so far he has not done so.
