Activist investor Ancora Holdings is planning to oppose Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) deal to sell its streaming and studio businesses to Netflix (NFLX), The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ancora is said to have built a less than 1% stake (about $200M) in Warner Bros. (WBD) and could disclose its position as soon as Wednesday. It plans to continue buying WBD shares.
The activist investor believes that Warner Bros. (WBD) failed to adequately engage with Paramount Skydance (PSKY), which made a hostile takeover bid for the whole company, sources told WSJ.
Ancora told Warner Bros. (WBD) CEO David Zaslav that it may launch a proxy fight if WBD’s board doesn’t negotiate the best deal for shareholders with Paramount (PSKY).
Warner Bros.’ (WBD) board has consistently backed Netflix’s (NFLX) bid, which it said offers “superior value at greater levels of certainty, without the significant risks and costs Paramount’s offer would impose on our shareholders.”
Shareholders of Warner Bros. (WBD) are reportedly expected to vote on Netflix’s (NFLX) offer next month.
Paramount (PSKY) on Tuesday sweetened its tender offer for Warner Bros. (WBD), including agreeing to fund a $2.8B termination fee to Netflix (NFLX). WBD’s board said it would review the offer, but did not change its recommendation on Netflix’s bid.