Warner Bros. board tells shareholders to reject Paramount offer in favor of Netflix
In this photo illustration a man holds a iPhone, that shows Netflix, Warner Bros and Paramount streaming apps on his phone screen on December 9, 2025 in Bristol, England. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The board at Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. said early on Wednesday that its members had unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount Skydance’s bid for the company in favor of Netflix’s earlier bid.
“Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender offer, the Board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., board chair, said in a statement.
Shares of Warner Bros. slipped about 1.5% in early trading, just about mirroring Netflix stock’s 1.6% climb prior to the market’s open. Paramount’s stock shed about 2.2% in early trading.
The Warner Bros. board said in a press release that the Netflix bid amounted to a “superior” offer, adding that it represented “more certain value for our shareholders.” Paramount’s offer, meanwhile, “provides inadequate value and imposes numerous, significant risks and costs on WBD,” the board said.
Netflix in its own statement said it welcomed the Warner Bros. board’s recommendation, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos describing the negotiations as a “competitive process that delivered the best outcome for consumers, creators, stockholders and the broader entertainment industry.:
“The Warner Bros. Discovery Board reinforced that Netflix’s merger agreement is superior and that our acquisition is in the best interest of stockholders,” Sarandos said in a statement.
Bitcoin signage on the exhibition floor during the Plan B Forum Bitcoin conference in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. The conference brings together world leaders, technologists, and entrepreneurs to discuss nation-state Bitcoin adoption, economics, financial freedom, and freedom of speech. (Photographer: Camilo Freedman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The price of bitcoin plunged more than 10% on Thursday, sinking the world’s largest cryptocurrency to its lowest level since October 2024 and erasing sizable gains made since then.
That was weeks before the election of President Donald Trump, a crypto supporter whose return to the nation’s highest office helped propel bitcoin to record highs.
Bitcoin clocked in at a price of about $66,100 on Thursday afternoon, leaving it 48% below an all-time high of about $126,210 attained just four months earlier, in October 2025.
The decline of bitcoin deepened a days-long stretch of sharp losses stretching back to last week.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also extended recent losses, shedding about 10% of its value on Thursday. Solana, another popular crypto coin, saw its price dip 11%.
Experts who previously spoke to ABC News attributed the recent decline in crypto prices to looming geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which has prompted a momentum-driven selloff as crypto holders raced to the exits. The initial drop likely forced some leveraged buyers to sell off their positions, intensifying the downward pressure, they added.
The labor market has slowed in recent months, while inflation has hovered above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
Meanwhile, geopolitical conflict looms amid negotiations over Greenland, U.S.-backed leadership in Venezuela, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as escalating U.S. threats against Iran over the past few weeks.
In recent weeks, Trump has threatened tariffs against Canada, South Korea and eight European countries, invoking the tool as means of exerting pressure over a range of foreign-policy issues.
The current market for crypto is a far cry from the boom enjoyed by the sector in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.
Bitcoin climbed more than 40% over the weeks after Election Day, when voters opted for Trump, who had previously vowed to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
On the campaign trail, Trump also vowed to bolster the cryptocurrency sector and ease regulations enforced by the Biden administration. Trump also promised to establish the federal government’s first National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Bitcoin has proven highly volatile since its launch about 15 years ago
As recently as 2022, bitcoin suffered a downturn that cut its value by more than 60%. A similar drop happened in each of the prior two years, when the pandemic helped trigger waves of buying and selling.
Despite its ups and downs, bitcoin has sustained an upward long-term trajectory. Over the past five years, the price has climbed 63%. Over that period, the S&P 500 has increased 75%.
Photo of Wall Street (Matteo Colombo/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Stocks closed down significantly on Tuesday, deepening losses suffered at the outset of trading, after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on multiple European countries as part of a push for U.S. control of Greenland.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 870 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P 500 declined 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.3%.
Those losses marked a dip from initial trading levels on Tuesday morning, when the Dow had fallen 1.2% and the S&P 500 had declined 1.4%. The Nasdaq had dropped 1.7% at the outset of the trading session.
The selloff came on the first day of trading since Trump announced the new tariffs in a social media post on Saturday.
U.S. treasury yields jumped on Tuesday, suggesting possible concern about economic instability stemming from the confrontation between Trump and European nations.
Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks devaluing the asset and, in turn, makes bonds less attractive. When demand for U.S. treasuries falls, bond yields rise.
Under the proposed plan, eight European nations — including Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom — will be slapped with 10% tariffs beginning on Feb. 1. Those levies are set to escalate to 25% on June 1, Trump said.
“This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump added.
Trump escalated the trade confrontation with Europe on Tuesday, threatening a 200% tariff on French wine if French President Emmanuel Macron opts to forego participation in Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.
European leaders, meanwhile, continued to push back on Trump’s ambitions and publicize their coordination efforts on the issue.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she met with a bipartisan congressional delegation to discuss both Russia’s war in Ukraine and recent tensions around Greenland.
Von der Leyen said she “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark. This is of utmost importance to our transatlantic relationship.”
ABC News’ David Brennan contributed to this report.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on February 24, 2026 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 900 points on Thursday as the war with Iran escalated and oil prices continued to climb.
The Dow fell 908 points, or 1.8%, while S&P 500 dropped 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.9%.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
