Some investors criticise board’s rejection of Paramount’s offer, citing better regulatory chancesSome of Warner Bros Discovery’s biggest investors are split on Paramount Skydance’s sweetened offer for the storied movie studio owner, giving the smaller media company a fighting chance at winning over shareholders.Investors have until January 21 to accept Paramount’s latest $108.4bn proposal, paying them $30 a share, an offer the Warner Bros board says is inferior to its agreement to sell to Netflix.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThough the creator of, Stranger Things, is offering just $27.75 a share or $82.7bn, Warner Bros says the financing is more solid and that Paramount’s deal would leave the merged company with too much debt.Alex Fitch, partner and portfolio manager for Harris Oakmark, which held about 96 million shares, or 4 percent of Warner Bros, as of September 30, agrees with the board.“The value still isn’t clearly superior to what has already been agreed to with Netflix. A tie goes to the incumbent,” Fitch said in an email to Reuters.Fee and debt at riskThough Paramount’s offer, on its face, is higher, Warner Bros said it does not cover the $2.8bn breakup fee it would have to pay Netflix, $1.5bn in fees it would owe its bankers and another $350m in financing costs.A smaller investor, Yussef Gheriani, chief investment officer of IHT Wealth Management, which has about 16,000 Warner Bros shares, said in an email that the board’s decision to reject Paramount’s offer makes sense as the increase in total value may not be worth breakup fees and borrowing costs. The deal would leave the combined company with $ …
