Despite Warner Bros accepting an $82.7 billion offer from Netflix, Paramount is going to the film studio's shareholders to get the deal reversed.

Alongside Apple TV, Paramount was known to be one of the bidders trying to buy the venerable Warner Bros studios and its extensive library. On December 5, 2025, though, Warner Bros announced that the deal had been done and that Netflix would be its new owner.

The deal was — and remains — subject to regulatory approval. There were immediate doubts over that approval as President Trump said that the deal "could be a problem."

But now, according to CNN, another issue has arisen. Paramount claims that it had offered a better deal, and that Warner Bros executives should not have accepted Netflix's bid without consulting shareholders.

"WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company," said David Ellison, Paramount CEO, in a statement. "Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion."

"We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal," he continued.

According to BBC News, Ellison has said he's had "great conversations" with President Trump about the deal. He claims Netflix owning Warner Bros would be "anti-competitive," and is "a horrible deal for Hollywood."

David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, who Trump has previously backed over deals to buy the US rights to TikTok. The two entities have had close relationships in the past, with Trump calling David Ellison a "great man."

Paramount's offer for Warner Bros is reportedly an all-cash one of $30 per share. Netflix offered $27.75 per share, and its deal was not all cash.

However, Netflix is said to be expecting to spin off Warner Bros Discovery's cable assets. That would reportedly result in an increase of the share value and Netflix believes this exceeds Paramount's offer.

It's separately been reported that even with regulatory approval, the takeover of Warner Bros will not be completed until late 2026. Warner Bros Discovery is presently preparing to first transform its international division, Discovery Global, into a separate, publicly-traded firm.