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Americans woke up on December 17, 2025 to a reminder that entrenched corporate boards still run to protect cozy deals with Big Tech rather than fight for shareholder value. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously told investors to reject Paramount Skydance’s $108 billion cash-and-debt bid and to stick with the company’s negotiated combination with Netflix.
Paramount’s approach was bold and direct: an all-in $30-per-share tender offer for the whole company that Paramount says is fully financed and would collapse legacy debt onto its balance sheet, valuing the transaction at roughly $108 billion. Warner’s board pushed back hard, saying the Ellison family’s backstop claims are not the binding financing commitment shareholders need and labeled the Paramount offer “inferior” to Netflix’s deal.
This is where conservative skepticism should kick in: why should American shareholders accept a sweetheart deal that hands a massive chunk of our entertainment infrastructure to a dominant streaming giant like Netflix without a real battle? The Warner board insists Netflix’s narrower offer for the studio and streaming assets is safer and more certain, but certainty for managers is not the same as getting the best value for investors.
Questions about financing are real and demand scrutiny, and good on Warner for flagging the revocable-trust structure that left too many loose ends. Still, headlines about foreign sovereign funds and shifting backers — including reports that Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners pulled back — show this fight is messy because Washington-era elites and opaque funding vehicles try to shape outcomes behind closed doors. Shareholders deserve transparency, not corporate PR spin.
Let’s be clear: conservatives should cheer market forces that challenge the status quo and punish boards that protect incumbents at investors’ expense. If Paramount can make a credible, fully funded bid that truly maximizes shareholder return and preserves competition, shareholders ought to hear it out; if the financing is shaky, demand proof. The proper response is not to reflexively side with a friendly management team or a Big Tech suitor that benefits politically connected insiders.
This battle will be a test of shareholder rights and regulatory consistency going into 2026. Patriots who care about capitalism and competition should press for full disclosure, oppose any backroom deals that entrench media monopolies, and make sure the outcome serves American workers, creators, and investors — not just the executives who designed the original Netflix tie-up. It’s time for shareholders to demand winners in the marketplace, not winners decided in boardrooms.
