01/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/22/2026 07:00
| | | |
Page
|
|
|
REASONS TO VOTE "AGAINST" THE SPECIAL MEETING PROPOSALS
|
| |
1
|
|
|
BACKGROUND OF THE SOLICITATION
|
| |
6
|
|
|
CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING THE OFFER
|
| |
32
|
|
|
CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPOSED NETFLIX MERGER
|
| |
33
|
|
|
CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING PARAMOUNT AND PRINCE SUB
|
| |
38
|
|
|
OTHER PROPOSALS TO BE PRESENTED AT THE SPECIAL MEETING
|
| |
38
|
|
|
VOTING PROCEDURES
|
| |
39
|
|
|
APPRAISAL RIGHTS
|
| |
43
|
|
|
SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
|
| |
43
|
|
|
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
|
| |
43
|
|
|
OTHER INFORMATION
|
| |
44
|
|
|
IMPORTANT VOTING INFORMATION
|
| |
46
|
|
|
SCHEDULE I INFORMATION CONCERNING DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND AFFILIATES OF PARAMOUNT AND PRINCE SUB WHO MAY BE
PARTICIPANTS |
| |
Sch I-1
|
|
|
SCHEDULE II SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF WARNER BROS. PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS AND MANAGEMENT
|
| |
Sch II-1
|
|
| |
Net Debt Reduction ($bn)
|
| |
Implied Global Linear Networks Net
Debt at 9/30/26E ($bn) |
| |
Reduction in Cash
Consideration per Share |
| |
Resulting Cash
Consideration per Share |
| |||||||||
| |
-
|
| | | $ | 16.6 | | | | |
|
-
|
| | | | $ | 27.75 | | |
| |
$ 1.0
|
| | | $ | 15.6 | | | | | $ | (0.38) | | | | | $ | 27.37 | | |
| |
$ 3.0
|
| | | $ | 13.6 | | | | | $ | (1.15) | | | | | $ | 26.60 | | |
| |
$ 5.0
|
| | | $ | 11.6 | | | | | $ | (1.91) | | | | | $ | 25.84 | | |
| |
$ 7.0
|
| | | $ | 9.6 | | | | | $ | (2.68) | | | | | $ | 25.07 | | |
| |
$ 9.0
|
| | | $ | 7.6 | | | | | $ | (3.44) | | | | | $ | 24.31 | | |
| |
$16.6
|
| | | $ | 0.0 | | | | | $ | (6.35) | | | | | $ | 21.40 | | |
|
Sources of Capital
|
| |
$bn
|
| |||
|
Cash Funding from Certain Affiliates and Partners of Paramount
|
| | | $ | 40.7 | | |
|
New Transaction Debt
|
| | | | 38.6 | | |
|
WBD Bridge Loan Refinancing
|
| | | | 15.4 | | |
|
Cash from Combined Balance Sheet
|
| | | | 3.5 | | |
| Total | | | | $ | 98.2 | | |
|
Uses of Capital
|
| |
$bn
|
| |||
|
WBD Equity Purchase Price
|
| | | $ | 77.9 | | |
|
WBD Bridge Loan Refinancing
|
| | | | 15.4 | | |
|
Minimum Balance Sheet Cash at Close
|
| | | | 4.8 | | |
| Total | | | | $ | 98.2 | | |
|
Term
|
| |
Original Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
Paramount/Warner Bros.
Merger Agreement |
|
|
Structure
|
| |
•
Acquisition of the Streaming & Studios businesses following an internal reorganization and a spin-off of the Global Linear Networks businesses and other assets into SpinCo
|
| |
•
Acquisition of all of Warner Bros.
|
|
|
Consideration
|
| |
•
$23.25 per Warner Bros. share in cash, plus
•
a to-be-determined number of shares of Netflix stock equal to:
•
0.0376, if the 15-day volume-weighted average trading price prior to closing (the "Netflix VWAP") is equal to or greater than $119.67;
•
the quotient obtained by dividing $4.50 by the Netflix VWAP, if the Netflix VWAP is greater than $97.91 but less than $119.67; or
•
0.0460, if the Netflix VWAP is less than or equal to $97.91
|
| |
•
$30 per Warner Bros. share in cash
|
|
| | | |
•
Consideration payable to Warner Bros. stockholders is subject to dollar-for-dollar reduction based on the net debt of SpinCo (which reduction in consideration is left to Warner Bros., in its sole discretion)
|
| |
•
No reduction to consideration
|
|
|
Financing
|
| |
•
$59.0 billion of debt financing provided by Wells Fargo, BNP and HSBC
|
| |
•
$40.7 billion of equity capital provided by the Ellison family and RedBird
•
$54.0 billion of debt financing provided by BofA, Citi and Apollo
|
|
|
Term
|
| |
Original Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
Paramount/Warner Bros.
Merger Agreement |
|
|
Regulatory Efforts Commitment
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that:
•
would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of Streaming & Studios; or
•
involves, applies to, restricts, or affects the operation, contracts, business or assets of Netflix
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that, individually or in the aggregate with all other remedies, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Paramount and its subsidiaries, including Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries
|
|
| | | |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
| |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
|
|
Regulatory Reverse Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$5.8 billion, payable by Netflix upon, among other things, termination for failure to obtain required regulatory approvals
|
| |
•
$5 billion, payable by Paramount upon, among other things, termination for failure to obtain required regulatory approvals
•
$1 billion deposited into an escrow account at 12 months and $500 million deposited at 15 months
|
|
|
Outside Date
|
| |
•
21 months (15 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
| |
•
18 months (12 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
|
|
Warner Bros. Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$2.8 billion (~3.89% of equity value), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
| |
•
3.75% of equity value (~$2.9 billion), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
|
|
Term
|
| |
Original Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
December 22 Paramount/Warner
Bros. Merger Agreement |
|
|
Structure
|
| |
•
Acquisition of the Streaming & Studios businesses following an internal reorganization and a spin-off of the Global Linear Networks businesses and other assets into SpinCo
|
| |
•
Acquisition of all of Warner Bros.
|
|
|
Consideration
|
| |
•
$23.25 per Warner Bros. share in cash, plus
•
a to-be-determined number of shares of Netflix stock equal to:
•
0.0376, if the 15-day volume-weighted average trading price prior to closing (the "Netflix VWAP") is equal to or greater than $119.67;
•
the quotient obtained by dividing $4.50 by the Netflix VWAP, if the Netflix VWAP is greater than $97.91 but less than $119.67; or
•
0.0460, if the Netflix VWAP is less than or equal to $97.91
|
| |
•
$30 per Warner Bros. share in cash
|
|
|
Term
|
| |
Original Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
December 22 Paramount/Warner
Bros. Merger Agreement |
|
| | | |
•
Consideration payable to Warner Bros. stockholders is subject to dollar-for-dollar reduction based on the net debt of SpinCo (which reduction in consideration is left to Warner Bros., in its sole discretion)
|
| |
•
No reduction to consideration
|
|
|
Financing
|
| |
•
$59.0 billion of debt financing provided by Wells Fargo, BNP and HSBC
|
| |
•
$40.7 billion of equity capital provided by the Ellison Trust and RedBird
•
Mr. Larry Ellison is providing a personal guarantee of the Ellison Trust's $40.4 billion equity commitment
•
$54.0 billion of debt financing provided by BofA, Citi and Apollo
|
|
|
Regulatory Efforts Commitment
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that:
•
would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of Streaming & Studios; or
•
involves, applies to, restricts, or affects the operation, contracts, business or assets of Netflix
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that, individually or in the aggregate with all other remedies, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Paramount and its subsidiaries, including Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries
|
|
| | | |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
| |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
|
|
Regulatory Reverse Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$5.8 billion, payable by Netflix upon, among other things, termination for failure to obtain required regulatory approvals
|
| |
•
Same
|
|
|
Outside Date
|
| |
•
21 months (15 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
| |
•
18 months (12 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
|
|
Warner Bros. Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$2.8 billion (~3.89% of equity value), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
| |
•
3.75% of equity value (~$2.9 billion), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
|
|
Term
|
| |
Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
December 22 Paramount/Warner
Bros. Merger Agreement |
|
|
Structure
|
| |
•
Acquisition of the Streaming & Studios businesses following an internal reorganization and a spin-off of the Global Linear Networks businesses and other assets into SpinCo
|
| |
•
Acquisition of all of Warner Bros.
|
|
|
Consideration
|
| |
•
$27.75 per Warner Bros. share in cash
•
Consideration payable to Warner Bros. stockholders is subject to reduction based on the net debt of Global Linear Networks (which reduction in consideration is left to Warner Bros., in its sole discretion
•
Net debt to be $17.0 billion as of June 30, 2026, decreasing over time to $16.1 billion as of December 31, 2026
|
| |
•
$30 per Warner Bros. share in cash
•
No reduction to consideration
|
|
|
Term
|
| |
Netflix Merger Agreement
|
| |
December 22 Paramount/Warner
Bros. Merger Agreement |
|
|
Financing
|
| |
•
$67.2 billion of debt financing provided by Wells Fargo, BNP and HSBC
|
| |
•
$40.7 billion of equity capital provided by the Ellison Trust and RedBird
•
Mr. Larry Ellison is providing a personal guarantee of the Ellison Trust's $40.4 billion equity commitment
•
$54.0 billion of debt financing provided by BofA, Citi and Apollo
|
|
|
Regulatory Efforts Commitment
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that:
•
would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of Streaming & Studios; or
•
involves, applies to, restricts, or affects the operation, contracts, business or assets of Netflix
|
| |
•
No requirement to agree to any remedy that, individually or in the aggregate with all other remedies, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on Paramount and its subsidiaries, including Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries
|
|
| | | |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
| |
•
Commitment to litigate
|
|
|
Regulatory Reverse Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$5.8 billion, payable by Netflix upon, among other things, termination for failure to obtain required regulatory approvals
|
| |
•
Same
|
|
|
Outside Date
|
| |
•
21 months (15 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
| |
•
18 months (12 months plus two 3-month extensions if required regulatory approvals have not been obtained)
|
|
|
Warner Bros. Termination Fee
|
| |
•
$2.8 billion (~3.89% of equity value), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
| |
•
3.75% of equity value (~$2.9 billion), payable by Warner Bros. upon, among other things, termination for Superior Proposal
|
|
|
Name
|
| | | |
| David Ellison | | | John L. Thornton | |
| Jeffrey Shell | | | Barbara Byrne | |
| Gerald Cardinale | | | Justin Hamill | |
| Andrew Brandon-Gordon | | | Sherry Lansing | |
| Paul Marinelli | | | Andrew Campion | |
| Safra Catz | | | | |
|
Name
|
| |
Present Principal Occupation or Employment
|
|
| David Ellison | | | Chief Executive Officer | |
| Jeffrey Shell | | | President | |
| Dennis Cinelli | | | Chief Financial Officer | |
| Andrew Brandon-Gordon | | |
Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer
|
|
| Makan Delrahim | | | Chief Legal Officer | |
|
Name
|
| | | |
| Katherine M. Gill-Charest | | | | |
| Jeffrey Shell | | | | |
| Andrew Brandon-Gordon | | | | |
| Dennis K. Cinelli | | | | |
|
Name
|
| |
Present Principal Occupation or Employment
|
|
| Katherine M. Gill-Charest | | | Executive Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer | |
| Jeffrey Shell | | | President | |
| Andrew Brandon-Gordon | | | Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer | |
| Dennis K. Cinelli | | | Chief Financial Officer | |
| Makan Delrahim | | | Chief Legal Officer | |
|
Name
|
| | | |
| Lawrence J. Ellison | | | | |
| RedBird Capital Management | | | | |
|
The Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust, u/a/d 1/22/88, as amended
|
| | | |
|
Name of Beneficial Owner(1)
|
| |
Executive Officers and Directors Shares
of Warner Bros. Series A Common Stock Beneficially Owned |
| |
Percentage Ownership of Outstanding
Warner Bros. Series A Common Stock |
| ||||||
|
David M. Zaslav
|
| | | | 11,157,417(2) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Gunnar Wiedenfels
|
| | | | 961,972(3) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Bruce L. Campbell
|
| | | | 1,679,792(4) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Jean-Briac Perrette
|
| | | | 2,058,852 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Gerhard Zeiler
|
| | | | 1,145,803 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr.
|
| | | | 41,886(5) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Richard W. Fisher
|
| | | | 46,718 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Paul A. Gould
|
| | | | 717,198 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Debra L. Lee
|
| | | | 43,045 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Joseph M. Levin
|
| | | | - | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Anton J. Levy
|
| | | | 925,000 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Kenneth W. Lowe
|
| | | | 1,077,834(6) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Fazal F. Merchant
|
| | | | 106,539 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Anthony J. Noto
|
| | | | 18,235 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Paula A. Price
|
| | | | - | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Daniel E. Sanchez
|
| | | | 20,054 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Geoffrey Y. Yang
|
| | | | 176,400(7) | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
All 20 current directors and executive officers as a group
|
| | | | 20,513,215 | | | | | | <1% | | |
|
Name of Beneficial Owner
|
| |
5% Stockholders Shares of Warner
Bros. Series A Common Stock Beneficially Owned |
| |
Percentage Ownership of
Outstanding Warner Bros. Series A Common Stock |
| ||||||
|
BlackRock, Inc.(8)
|
| | | | 154,407,752(11) | | | | | | 6.2% | | |
|
State Street Corporation(9)
|
| | | | 169,452,466(12) | | | | | | 6.8% | | |
|
The Vanguard Group(10)
|
| | | | 281,212,937(13) | | | | | | 11.4% | | |