The war over the fate of WBD keeps intensifying as Paramount investor and RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale isn’t backing down from the Warner Bros. Discovery board or its Netflix deal.
With the sale of WBD, the Warner Bros. Discovery executives are set to get the following if the company sells:
- David Zaslav, C.E.O.: $567.7 million
- Gunnar Wiedenfels, C.F.O.: $144.9 million
- Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, $138.5 million
- JB Perrette, C.E.O. and president, global streaming and games: $167.4 million
- Gerhard Zeiler, president, international: $95.2 million
RedBird Founder Slams WBD Over Netflix-Favoring Narrative
Puck News interviewed Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital and financial backer of David Ellison’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, who is blasting the WBD board for how it framed the Paramount–Skydance offer in its recent SEC filing.
The filing laid out why WBD accepted Netflix’s roughly $83 billion cash-and-stock proposal for the studio and HBO Max and downplayed the Ellison all-cash bid for the entire company, raising questions about Larry Ellison’s trust and the structure of the Paramount deal.
Cardinale called the board’s portrayal “a false narrative” and “a bunch of red herrings,” saying WBD is mischaracterizing a fully backed offer.
Cardinale Defends Larry Ellison And The Financing
Cardinale told Puck he has spent decades building a reputation on doing deals the right way and called the board’s approach disrespectful to both him and the Ellisons.
He stressed that Larry Ellison’s trust has been a counterparty in tens of thousands of transactions and has never failed to deliver, including on the recent Paramount transaction:
“I spent 35 years doing everything the right way, and the Ellisons are no different. He’s one of the greatest entrepreneurs and business builders in history. When he says he’s going to do something, he does it. And by the way, don’t just believe me. Look at his track record.”
He argued that the idea Ellison might suddenly walk away from the WBD deal is nonsense, insisting the commitment is real and that the financing behind the $30-per-share bid is solid and ready.
$30 All-Cash Offer Still On The Table
Pressed on whether the Ellisons will raise their offer beyond 30 dollars a share, Cardinale said he wants WBD shareholders, not the board or CEO David Zaslav, to respond to the current proposal first.
He maintains that 30 dollars in cash for 100 percent of WBD, paired with what he describes as a cleaner regulatory profile, is superior to Netflix’s package.
Cardinale also noted that the Ellison side had already adjusted its bid multiple times on price and structure to match what WBD said it wanted, only for the board to stop engaging once they finally hit those targets:
“I’m saying the following: $30 in cash for 100 percent of the company, with our regulatory profile, is superior to Netflix. Okay, over to them. Respond to that offer. We’ve shown a track record of going through five bids where they responded, and somehow on the sixth—where we actually hit what they asked us to hit, both in price and structure and everything else—they decided not to respond to it. I’m waiting for that.”
For now, the Paramount–Skydance camp is holding its ground and pushing to get its offer in front of shareholders as the fight over WBD’s future continues.
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