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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Paramount SkyDance (“Paramount”) filed a lawsuit demanding that Warner Bros. Discovery (“Warner Bros.”) immediately disclose information regarding its merger agreement with Netflix, but a Delaware court has rejected the request for expedited proceedings.
On January 15 (local time), Judge Morgan Zurn of the Delaware Court ruled against Paramount’s motion for rapid disclosure. According to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, the judge noted that Paramount had failed to demonstrate it would suffer “legally cognizable, irreparable harm” due to Warner Bros.’s allegedly insufficient information disclosure. The court also highlighted that Paramount had other avenues to obtain the requested information.
Paramount had initially sought to acquire Warner Bros. last year. After Warner Bros.’s board agreed to a competing bid from Netflix, Paramount declared a hostile takeover and launched a public tender offer to Warner Bros. shareholders.
Paramount subsequently submitted a revised proposal ensuring funding for the acquisition, which was again rejected by the Warner Bros. board. On January 12, Paramount filed the lawsuit demanding immediate disclosure of details such as the price determination methodology in the Netflix transaction.
Following the court’s ruling, Paramount issued a statement pledging to continue pressing Warner Bros. for disclosure, urging Warner Bros. shareholders to question why the board is “so intent on withholding this information.” Paramount also announced plans to extend the public tender offer period beyond January 21.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
