‘David Ellison Scares the S— Out of Me’: How Paramount Beat Out Netflix, Won Warner Bros. and Will Change Hollywood Forever

Ted Sarandos had just wrapped up a White House meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday when Warner Bros. Discovery released a statement announcing that Paramount’s latest bid for the media company was a “superior proposal” to the one that Netflix had offered. With his deal to buy the 100-year-old film and television giant hanging in the balance, Sarandos quickly consulted with a key team of executives, which included CFO Spencer Neumann and his co-ceo Greg Peters, who had been overseeing Netflix’s bid for Warners, sources say.

Under the terms of its agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix had four business days to equal or surpass a better offer. But the numbers didn’t lie. Paramount was now willing to pay $31 per share to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its struggling cable business. Netflix, which only wanted Warners’ studio and streaming business, did not…