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Netflix ditches Warner Bros. Discovery deal after Paramount offer deemed superior

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Netflix ditches Warner Bros. Discovery deal after Paramount offer deemed superior

Netflix is walking away from a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets after the WBD board on Thursday deemed a revised bid by Paramount Skydance to be a superior offer.

Earlier this week, Paramount raised its bid to buy the entirety of WBD to $31 per share, up from $30 per share, all cash. It was the latest amendment to Paramount’s multiple offers in recent months — and since moving forward with a hostile bid to buy the company — and it’s now unseated a deal between WBD and Netflix to sell the legacy media company’s studio and streaming businesses for $27.75 per share.

Last week, Netflix granted WBD a seven-day waiver to reengage with Paramount, resulting in the higher bid. Paramount’s offer is for the entirety of WBD, including its pay TV networks, such as CNN, TBS and TNT.

Netflix had four business days to make changes to its own proposal in light of Paramount’s superior bid, the WBD board said in a statement Thursday.

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Instead, the decision by the streaming giant to walk away puts a pin in a drawn-out saga that saw amended offers from both bidders.

Netflix stock spiked 10% in extended trading Thursday. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery fell 2%.

“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. “However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.”

The latest Paramount bid included a $7 billion breakup fee in the event the proposed merger doesn’t win regulatory approval. The company also agreed to pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee that WBD would owe Netflix if that deal didn’t go through.

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Sarandos told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin in an interview last week that the company granted WBD the waiver to reopen Paramount talks in order to give shareholders clarity.

“Paramount had been making a ton of noise, flooding the zone with confusion for shareholders … including floating all these hypothetical offers and talking directly to the shareholders and bypassing the Warner Bros. Discovery board,” Sarandos said at the time. “So we’ve given the opportunity to get those shareholders exactly what they deserve, which is complete clarity and certainty.”

However, Sarandos had fallen short of commenting on whether Netflix would up its own offer to match a revised Paramount bid.

“Warner Bros. is a world-class organization, and we want to thank David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Brad Singer and the WBD Board for running a fair and rigorous process,” the Netflix co-CEOs said in their statement.

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“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S.,” they said. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”

This news is developing. Please check back for updates.

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Coffee and ground beef prices surge most in 2 years, report finds

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Coffee and ground beef prices surge most in 2 years, report finds

Americans are facing a tale of two grocery lists.

While some prices are cooling, the items families rely on most for energy and nutrition — meat and coffee — are seeing sharp increases that wipe out any savings in the bread aisle.

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Fourteen of the 25 most common grocery store staples rose in price from February 2024 to February 2026, with the top five largest increases coming from coffee (+55%), lettuce (+39%), ground beef (+31%), sirloin steak (+21%) and orange juice (+15%), according to a new report from CouponFollow that analyzed Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the past two years.

Coffee was the fastest-rising staple in the study, with a pound of ground roast costing $6.09 in 2024 compared to $9.46 in 2026. Going back to 2020, coffee prices have reportedly increased 123%.

JAMIE DIMON WARNS IRAN WAR COULD DRIVE INFLATION, INTEREST RATES HIGHER

Ground beef has hit $6.74 per pound, a 31% increase from 2024 and 74% above pre-pandemic levels.

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Customers shop for ground beef at grocery store

Customers shop for beef at a grocery store on April 6, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

With ground beef prices in mind, CouponFollow ran a “taco night test,” tracking specific meal scenarios to show how inflation affects consumers. A family of four is paying nearly $25 just for basic taco ingredients, compared to just $17.50 six years ago.

If you can live on eggs and toast, your bill might be lower than it was two years ago, with egg prices decreasing the most (-17%), followed by white bread (-8%), spaghetti (-8%) and butter (-7%).

Still, the report warns that “the items still climbing are rising fast enough to offset those declines.”

“Grocery inflation isn’t going away overnight, but small changes to how and where you shop can add up fast. Paying attention to which categories are rising and which are cooling, stocking up on pantry staples when prices dip, and being flexible with pricier proteins are all easy ways to stretch your grocery budget a little further,” CouponFollow notes. “Stacking those habits with coupons and deals can make an even bigger dent in your weekly bill.”

Economic experts have also recently cautioned that high oil prices due to the Iran war are pushing gasoline prices higher, and that could lead to grocery bills rising for American consumers.

The increase in oil, gas and diesel prices raises transportation costs for businesses, including grocery stores, which may face pressure to raise food prices and other items if the situation continues.

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“Every time something moves in the economy, it will cost more,” said Derek Reisfield, co-founder of MarketWatch and a former McKinsey consultant. “Someone, usually the end consumer, will have to pay for that.”

Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, previously told FOX Business: “For U.S. consumers, what this means is that while there is currently a price shock at the pump being felt directly by consumers, there’s still uncertainty as to how long this shock will last.”

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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

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SigmaRoc executives acquire shares through employee plan

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SigmaRoc executives acquire shares through employee plan

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Flowers Foods chief supply chain officer retiring

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Flowers Foods chief supply chain officer retiring

Search for successor to Tom Winters gets underway.

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Rainbow Rare Earths Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (OTCMKTS:RBWRF) 2026-04-09

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

This article was written by

Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team

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U.S. Money Markets: Slow Calm To Steady State

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U.S. Money Markets: Slow Calm To Steady State

U.S. Money Markets: Slow Calm To Steady State

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Epam Systems stock hits 52-week low at $125.53

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Epam Systems stock hits 52-week low at $125.53

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BlackBerry earnings up next: All eyes on FY27 revenue outlook

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BlackBerry earnings up next: All eyes on FY27 revenue outlook

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The U.S. Tariff Shock In 2025 Vs. 2026 – Same Negative Impact, Different Drivers

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The U.S. Tariff Shock In 2025 Vs. 2026 - Same Negative Impact, Different Drivers

The U.S. Tariff Shock In 2025 Vs. 2026 – Same Negative Impact, Different Drivers

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Main Roads buys $59m Naval Base sites

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Main Roads buys $59m Naval Base sites

The two purchases in Naval Base are part of Main Roads’ plans to make way for the state’s $7.2 billion Westport project.

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American Airlines raises checked bag fees, trims economy perks amid soaring fuel prices

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American Airlines raises checked bag fees, trims economy perks amid soaring fuel prices


American Airlines raises checked bag fees, trims economy perks amid soaring fuel prices

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