Closing post
Time to play the closing credits….
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is not giving up in its aggressive campaign to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), launching a hostile bid despite the announcement on Friday that Netflix had agreed to buy the company’s studio and streaming operation.
Netflix’s accepted bid valued the company at $27.75 a share, though the entertainment company did not agree to acquire WBD’s traditional television assets, including the news network CNN.
Paramount’s all-cash tender offer sent directly to shareholders on Monday morning is for $30 a share and would be for the entire company, offering a total enterprise value of $108.4bn, a major premium to the company’s stock price.
In making its case to shareholders, Paramount claimed its acquisition of the company provides significantly better value for shareholders would be much likelier to survive regulatory scrutiny. David Ellison and his father, Larry, whose family is financially backing the deal, are both friendly with the Trump administration. Larry Ellison had already had early conversations with a senior Trump aide about what changes he might want to see at CNN.
Donald Trump had earlier warned of potential competition problems over Netflix’s $83bn (£62bn) deal to buy Warner Brothers’ movie studio and streaming networks.
The US president, speaking at an event in Washington DC on Sunday, confirmed he would be involved in deciding whether the government approved the takeover.
He said Netflix had a “big market share” and the companies’ combined size “could be a problem”.
In other new…
China’s trade surplus has hit the $1tn mark for the first time, despite the tariffs imposed by the US this year.
The averate rates on UK fixed-term mortgages have hit their lowest levels since September 2022.
Unilever has spun off its ice-cream business, prompting the appearance of an “Angry giant magnum” at the London stock market.
The boss of fashion chain Asos took a pay cut to £905,920 last year when former finance director Dave Murray was handed a £1m pay off.
Murray, who left in June after just over a year in the job, was paid £430,824 in salary and benefits for the period between September 2024 and 30 June 2025 and then was handed a further £583,574 package including payment in lieu of a notice period and accrued holiday pay.
José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, the chief executive, saw his pay fall almost 23% in the year to 31 August from £1.2m a year before after his annual bonus was cut to zero as he missed profits and sales targets.
Asos’s annual report published today says:
“Whilst the business has made significant progress throughout [the 2025 financial year] and the mechanical outcome of the scheme would have resulted in an annual bonus achievement of 4.56% of base salary … [the board] exercised its discretion and determined that no bonus would be payable.”
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