A history of Warner Bros – from old Hollywood to streaming era

Feb 27 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery on Friday entered an agreement to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a high‑stakes bidding war after Netflix withdrew from its agreement with the HBO Max owner.

Here is a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company’s latest breakup and potential sale.

Date Event

1923 Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry,

Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio

in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with

the introduction of synchronized sound in

films.

1969  Kinney National Company, a conglomerate that

later transitioned into media, buys Warner

Bros-Seven Arts and later spins off its

non-media businesses.

1972 HBO is founded by Charles Dolan with backing

from Time. It was the first U.S.

subscription-based cable network, offering

uncut, commercial-free movies and live

sports, pioneering premium cable television.

1990 Time Inc merges with Warner Communications in

a $14 billion deal, hailed as a “marriage of

content and distribution”, creating Time

Warner, then the largest media company in the

world.

1996  Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting,

gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast

film library of classic films.

2000  Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL Time

Warner, the largest merger in history at the

time, aiming to marry traditional and digital

media.

2002 AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as

AOL’s value collapses with the launch of an

SEC investigation, prompted by allegations of

accounting irregularities and inflated

revenue reports at AOL.

2003 CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner.

2004 Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private

equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for

$2.6 billion.

2009 Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner

Cable, which had already been partially

separated in 2007, ending its role in cable

distribution. 

2009  Time Warner spins off AOL. 

2013 Time Warner spins off Time, its magazine

division, which includes Time, People,

Fortune and Sports Illustrated, marking its

formal exit from publishing.

2016 AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner for

$85 billion.

2018 AT&T completes its acquisition of Time Warner

after regulator approval, renaming it

WarnerMedia.

2021 AT&T announces it will spin off WarnerMedia

and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a

new standalone media company.

2022 WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their

merger in a $43 billion deal.

June 9, Warner Bros Discovery announces it will

2025 separate into two companies — one focusing on

streaming and studios businesses, while the

second will house its cable TV assets.

October 21, Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejects a

2025 Paramount Skydance offer of nearly $60

billion, or $24 per share, a source familiar

with the matter exclusively tells Reuters.

The company says it is weighing a potential

sale amid interest from several suitors.

November Warner Bros Discovery’s board wants Paramount

18, 2025 Skydance to sweeten its bid to $30 per share,

valuing the company at $74.34 billion, Axios

reports.

November Warner Bros Discovery receives preliminary

21, 2025 buyout bids from Paramount Skydance, Comcast

and Netflix — who were asked to improve their

offers. 

December 1, Warner Bros Discovery receives a second round

2025 of bids, including a mostly cash offer from

Netflix.

December 4, Paramount Skydance accuses Warner Bros

2025 Discovery of running an unfair sale process

that favors Netflix over other bidders, CNBC

reports, citing a letter sent by the newly

merged media company.

December 5, Netflix is in exclusive talks to

2025 buy Warner Bros Discovery’s film and

television studios along with its streaming

assets after offering $28 per share, a source

says.

December 5, Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s

2025 film and TV studios and streaming division

for $72 billion, or $27.75 per share.

December 9, Paramount Skydance makes a hostile bid for

2025 Warner Bros Discovery in a deal valued at

$108.4 billion or $30 per share.

December Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejects

17, 2025 Paramount Skydance’s hostile $108.4 billion

bid, saying it failed to provide adequate

financing assurances.

December Paramount Skydance amends its offer to buy

23, 2025 Warner Bros Discovery to include a $40.4

billion personal guarantee from Larry

Ellison.

January 7, Warner Bros Discovery rejects Paramount

2026 Skydance’s amended hostile bid despite Larry

Ellison’s guarantee.

January 12, Paramount Skydance files lawsuit to force

2026 Warner Bros Discovery to disclose details of

its deal with Netflix and plans to nominate

directors to Warner Bros Discovery’s board.

January 20, Netflix amends its bid to an all‑cash offer

2026 for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and

streaming units and secures unanimous

approval from the Warner Bros board without

increasing the $82.7 billion purchase price.

January 22, Paramount Skydance extends its hostile tender

2026 offer for Warner Bros Discovery to February

20, seeking more time to win investors.

February 3, U.S. senators grill Netflix co-CEO Ted

2026 Sarandos at a hearing over how the company’s

acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery would

affect competition in the entertainment

industry.

February 5, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will stay

2026 out of the bidding war for Warner Bros

Discovery, a reversal from his comments late

last year.

February Paramount Skydance revises its $30-per-share

10, 2026 all-cash offer for Warner Bros, adding a

25-cent-per-share fee for every quarter the

transaction does not close beyond December

31, 2026. Paramount also says it will fund

the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner Bros

owes Netflix if the deal falls through.

February Warner Bros rejects Paramount’s revised bid

17, 2026 and gives the Hollywood Studio seven days to

see if it can come up with a better deal to

buy the owner of HBO Max and the “Harry

Potter” franchise.

February Warner Bros Discovery says it is considering

24, 2026 a sweetened bid from Paramount Skydance

without disclosing the value of the deal.

February Warner Bros Discovery opens the door to

24, 2026   Paramount after its CEO, David Ellison,

raises the offer to $31 per share.

February Netflix refuses to raise its offer for Warner

26, 2026 Bros after the coveted Hollywood studio said

Paramount Skydance’s revised $31-a-share

offer was superior to its existing deal with

the streaming giant.

Paramount pays the $2.80 billion

February termination fee that Warner Bros owed

27, 2026 Netflix, streaming giant discloses in SEC

filing

February Warner Bros Discovery enters an agreement to

27, 2026 be acquired by Paramount Skydance at $81

billion in equity value, in a transaction

expected to close in the third quarter of

2026.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba, Meghana Khare, Anhata Rooprai, and Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Manya Saini and Sneha S K; Editing by Leroy Leo, Arun Koyyur, Shinjini Ganguli, Pooja Desai, Tasim Zahid and Maju Samuel)