Paramount Skydance’s bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery is a big deal — literally.
The all-cash offer of $30 per share works out to a valuation of more than $108 billion, or an equity valuation of $78.7 billion, for WBD’s entire operation, putting it in the upper echelons of hostile takeover attempts in recent decades.
In fairness, the $82.7 billion deal, or $72 billion equity valuation, from streaming giant Netflix is also pretty massive. That was the one WBD’s board had agreed on, and it excluded certain pieces of the business.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.” Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
To get a sense of the biggest hostile takeover deals of the past 30 years, Business Insider asked financial analytics provider Dealogic to pull the numbers.
Here are the equity valuations of the 14 largest hostile takeover announcements since 1995, and where the Paramount deal for WBD would fit in.
AT&T Broadband LLC by Comcast Corp, 2002 – $32.7 billion
Comcast launched an unsolicited bid for AT&T Broadband, which was then the largest cable operator in the US. After a few rounds of negotiations and pressure from shareholders, AT&T accepted the offer. The deal gave rise to Comcast’s national expansion.
Twitter Inc by Elon Musk, 2022 – $41.3 billion
The billionaire CEO of Tesla made an unsolicited offer to buy Twitter after building a large stake. Twitter initially resisted, but eventually accepted the deal. Musk, however, tried to back out of the deal and was met with litigation, before eventually closing the takeover he started. Musk had since then changed the platform’s algorithm, its name, and content moderation rules.
National Westminster Bank by Royal Bank of Scotland Group, 1999 – $42.6 billion
In what was at the time Europe’s largest hostile takeover, RBS and Bank of Scotland fought in a bidding war for NatWest, which ended with RBS’s victory through a hostile offer. The deal helped RBS become a global banking giant, but at the cost of taking on excessive debt. RBS collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.
Genentech Inc by Roche Holding AG, 2009 – $46.8 billion
Roche, which already owned a majority stake in Genentech, launched a hostile bid for full ownership. The biotech company initially resisted the attempt due to undervaluation. After raising the offer, Roche succeeded.
Reynolds American Inc by British American Tobacco, 2016 – $49.4 billion
BAT made an unsolicited offer to buy the remainder of Reynolds, after already owning a large stake in it. Reynolds negotiated a higher price but ultimately accepted the takeover. The deal created the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company at the time.
Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC by InBev SA/NV, 2008 – $50.5 billion
Belgium’s InBev made a hostile offer for Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of beer brand Budweiser. AB’s management and founding family initially resisted being taken over by a foreign company, but shareholders pressured them to accept after InBev raised its bid.
Monsanto Co by Bayer AG, 2018 – $57 billion
Bayer made an unsolicited offer to Monsanto, and the chemical company held out for a higher price before accepting the deal. Unfortunately for Bayer, the German biotech company also inherited lawsuits against Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.
Elf Aquitaine SA by TotalFina SA, 2000 – $57.9 billion
TotalFina launched a hostile bid for Elf in a dramatic French corporate battle. After nearly a year of fighting and regulatory scrutiny, the companies merged and became one of the world’s biggest oil companies. The combined entity was eventually renamed as TotalEnergies.
Shire PLC by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, 2019 – $63.1 billion
Japanese company Takeda made a series of unsolicited bids for UK-based Shire. Shire repeatedly rejected the deal until Takeda substantially increased the offer. This is one of the largest acquisitions ever made by a Japanese company, and it gave Takeda a large rare disease drug portfolio.
Aventis SA by Sanofi-Synthelabo SA, 2004 – $72.9 billion
Sanofi’s unsolicited takeover was met with strong resistance from Aventis, so much so that the company sought to be acquired by a different pharmaceutical giant, Novartis. Sanofi sweetened the offer, and Aventis eventually accepted it.
Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance, 2025 (Pending) – $78.7 billion
Paramount launched its hostile takeover bid after WBD’s board bypassed its offers in favor of a deal with Netflix.
Warner-Lambert Co by Pfizer Inc, 2000 – $86.6 billion
Pfizer launched a hostile bid to break apart Warner-Lambert’s agreed merger with American Home Products. Warner-Lambert fought back but ultimately conceded. This gave Pfizer full ownership of Lipitor, which holds the record for the highest lifetime sales for a single drug.
ABN Amro Holding NV by Royal Bank of Scotland Group, 2007 – $97 billion
Immediately before the 2008 financial crisis, Barclays tried to acquire ABN AMRO amicably, but RBS, alongside Fortis and Banco Santander, countered with a hostile, higher bid and won. The acquisition sped up RBS’s collapse soon after.
SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev, 2016 – $114.4 billion
In a move that consolidated much of the world’s beer industry under one entity, AB InBev launched a hostile offer for SABMiller, eventually raising the bid to satisfy resistant shareholders.
Mannesmann AG by Vodafone AirTouch, 2000 – $177.4 billion
UK company Vodafone AirTouch launched a hostile bid for German company Mannesmann, which had rapidly become one of Europe’s most valuable telecom companies. Mannesmann fiercely resisted, framing the bid as an attack on German industrial values and national pride. The record-setting battle lasted three months, ending with Vodafone winning by raising the bid.
