Paramount’s bid to buy Warner Bros. has one of its stars curious about the economics of the possible deal.
On Monday, Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, launched a hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery after the latter agreed to a deal with Netflix last week that would sell the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, HBO and HBO Max. The Netflix deal is valued at $82.7 billion, or $27.75 per share of WBD common stock. Paramount’s tender offer is $30 per share, putting the total at more than $108 billion.
The eye-popping numbers led Late Show host Stephen Colbert to muse about the Paramount bid during his monologue Tuesday night. (Paramount owns CBS, which airs The Late Show.)
“Wow. I gotta say, if my company’s got that kind of green, I’m sure they can afford to un-cancel one of their best shows,” Colbert said, drawing cheers from the studio audience. “CBS, you heard the people — bring back The Equalizer.”
CBS, of course, announced in July — a few weeks before Ellison’s Skydance finalized its purchase of Paramount — that it would end The Late Show after its current season. The network cited cost concerns as the primary reason for the cancellation, claiming the show loses $40 million annually.
Colbert also noted that the Paramount bid for WBD includes $24 billion from wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. “And when the dictator of Saudia Arabia gives you billions of dollars, I’m sure there’s no catch,” he said. “In a totally unrelated story, I’m looking forward to next season’s new CBS hit comedy, Young Mohammed bin Sheldon.”
Colbert’s monologue from Tuesday’s show is below. The comments about the Paramount-WBD offer start at the 8:34 mark.
