Paramount CEO Sends Text to Warner Bros. CEO After Aggressive Bid: Here’s What It Said

Paramount CEO David Ellison reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav after making a hostile bid to buy the company.

According to the Financial Times, Ellison sent Zaslav a text saying, “David, I appreciate you’re underwater today so I wanted to send you a quick text. Know despite the noise of the last 24 hours I have nothing but respect and admiration for you and the company… It would be the honour of a lifetime to be your partner and to be the owner of these iconic assets. If we have the privilege to work together you will see that my father and I are the people you had dinner with.”

Ellison also shared his vision for the deal with Paramount employees in a memo sent Monday afternoon. He described the potential merger as a chance to create a stronger company and a more powerful presence in the entertainment industry.

“We believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole,” he wrote, according to Business Insider.

Paramount’s all-cash offer is $30 per share for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, which Ellison says is higher than Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer for WBD’s streaming and studio assets, including Warner Bros., HBO, and HBO Max. The move comes as Paramount tries to win over investors and employees to support its bid.

“Our motivation for pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery has been consistent from the start. We love this industry and believe deeply in its future,” Ellison added. He also called storytelling “one of America’s greatest cultural and economic exports.”

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has made a similar argument focused on American jobs when discussing the deal with President Donald Trump. “What the president has been interested in, in this deal, has been: To what extent does it protect and create jobs in America?” Sarandos said at an industry conference on Monday.

While Netflix frames its proposal as the best option for consumers and the broader industry, Paramount is emphasizing the potential growth and power of a combined company.

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