The $108B Campaign Website: When M&A Becomes a Perception War

On Friday, Netflix announced they were buying Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion.

On Monday, Paramount went hostile.
$108.4 billion. All cash. Straight to the shareholders.

And they launched a website.
Not a press release buried on some investor relations page.
A full campaign website: StrongerHollywood.com

I've been watching M&A deals for years. I've never seen anything like this. Paramount didn't just bid higher. They built a referendum.

The site has everything: side-by-side comparison charts, investor presentations, conference call replays, contact forms. It reads less like a tender offer and more like a political campaign.

"Building a Stronger Hollywood" is the tagline.

The message is clear: This isn't just about who pays more. It's about who you believe.

The Math Everyone's Talking About
Paramount is offering $30 per share, all cash. Netflix offered $27.75—$23.25 cash plus $4.50 in Netflix stock.
On paper, that's $18 billion more in cash
consideration for WBD shareholders.

But here's where it gets interesting.
WBD's board picked Netflix on Friday. They had six offers from Paramount. They rejected all of them.
So, Paramount bypassed the board entirely and went direct to shareholders with a hostile tender offer.
Now shareholders have 20 business days to decide.

What Paramount Is Really Selling
The website breaks down their pitch across eight dimensions: scope, cash consideration, total consideration, value certainty, closing certainty, timing, and regulatory commitment.
But strip away the jargon and Paramount is selling three things:

1. Certainty
All cash. No stock. No spinoff of a "highly leveraged and structurally declining" cable networks business that shareholders would be stuck with under the Netflix deal.
2. Speed
Paramount says they can close in 12 months. Netflix is projecting 12-18 months, maybe longer.
3. Political leverage
Paramount's financing includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's L'imad Holding, Qatar Investment Authority, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners.

Trump said on Sunday the Netflix deal "could be a problem."
Less than 24 hours later, Paramount—backed by Kushner and the Ellison family (major Trump supporters)—launched the hostile bid.
Coincidence? Unlikely.What Netflix Is Really Selling
Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-CEO, laughed when asked about Paramount's move on Monday.

"Today's move was entirely expected. We have a deal done."
Translation: We already won. This is theater.
Netflix isn't selling cash. They're selling capability.
"Over the years, we have been known to be builders, not buyers," Sarandos said last week.

This is Netflix's first mega-acquisition. They're betting WBD's board believes they can actually execute.

And they agreed to something no one else would: a $5.8 billion breakup fee if regulators kill the deal.

That's not just confidence. That's signaling "we're not walking away."Why This Matters Beyond Hollywood
Most M&A happens in boardrooms.

This one is happening in public.

Paramount didn't just submit a competing bid. They launched a campaign.

They're not trying to convince the board. They're trying to convince shareholders that the board made the wrong call.
That's a fundamentally different strategy.

And it only works if you can tell a more credible story than the other side.

The Two Competing Narratives
Paramount's story: "We're offering you more money, faster, with less risk. Netflix is going to kill theatrical releases, face brutal regulatory fights, and leave you holding a worthless cable TV stub. We'll keep Hollywood strong."
Netflix's story: "We know how to run this. We have 300 million subscribers globally. We have the infrastructure to unlock Warner Bros.' value. Paramount is desperate, politically connected, but unproven at this scale."

One is selling dollars.
The other is selling execution.

What Shareholders Are Actually Deciding
Here's what's wild: WBD's stock is trading below both offer prices right now.
That means the market doesn't fully believe either deal will close.
So shareholders aren't just deciding who pays more.
They're deciding:

• Do we trust Netflix to navigate antitrust regulators across the U.S., EU, and other jurisdictions?

• Do we trust Paramount's financing (backed by sovereign wealth funds and Kushner) to actually close?

• Do we believe the board's judgment, or do we think they got it wrong?

That's not a financial decision.
That's a perception decision.

The Breakup Fees Tell the Real Story
If Netflix walks away, they owe WBD $5.8 billion.
If WBD walks away to take Paramount's deal, they owe Netflix $2.8 billion.
Those numbers signal who has more to lose.
Netflix is all-in. They can't afford to lose this publicly after announcing a "done deal."
Paramount is betting that $18 billion in extra cash is enough to make shareholders override the board.

The Question No One's Asking
Everyone's focused on the math. The regulatory risk. The political angles.
But here's what I keep coming back to:
What happens if Netflix wins—and then can't integrate Warner Bros.?
They're buying:

• 100 years of Warner Bros. brand equity

• HBO's prestige positioning

• The DC Universe

• Theatrical release commitments through 2029

Do they absorb it all into Netflix? Run parallel brands? Kill HBO Max?
Because if perception clarity isn't engineered from day one, they won't unlock $82.7 billion of value.
They'll inherit $82.7 billion of confusion.
And Paramount is betting shareholders are thinking about that too.

What This Deal Actually Proves
Most people think M&A is about who has the most capital.
It's not.
It's about who tells the most believable story.

Paramount has more cash on the table.
Netflix has the board's vote.
But neither one wins unless shareholders believe their version of the future is real.

That's why Paramount built a website instead of just filing paperwork.
They're not bidding. They're campaigning.
And campaigns are won on perception, not spreadsheets.

We'll know in 20 business days which story WBD shareholders bought.
But either way, this is the future of M&A: not just fought in boardrooms, but fought in public, with websites, narratives, and campaigns designed to win belief, not just approval.