By Dave Mason
The Center Square

The multibillion dollar question of who’s buying Warner Bros. was answered Friday when Netflix announced its purchase of the iconic Burbank studio.

After a weeks-long bidding war, the world’s biggest streaming service said it is buying Warner Bros., the studio known for everything from “Casablanca” and Bugs Bunny cartoons to the Superman and Harry Potter movies, for $72 billion. That’s the equity value. Netflix puts the total enterprise value at $82.7 billion.

The deal, which needs federal approval, likely will face challenges over antitrust concerns. Many Republican members of Congress opposed Netflix’s bid.

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee said on X that the reported bid “would raise serious competition questions – perhaps more so than any transaction I’ve seen in about a decade.”

Friday’s announcement ends bidding that started after New York-based parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced it was selling. Netflix offered nearly $28 per share, more than that offered by what was seen as the frontrunner: Paramount Skydance. The third bidder was Comcast.

Netflix expects the deal to close in 12 to 18 months. It said it will continue to operate Warner Bros.’ movie and TV studios in Burbank, near Los Angeles, and release Warner Bros. movies in theaters.

The sale includes Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios, HBO Max and Max. The sale also includes Burbank-based DC Comics and DC Studios, which produces TV shows and movies including the recently released “Superman” film.

“Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement.

Under the deal, Discovery’s global networks division, Discovery Global, would leave Warner Bros. Discovery and become a separate publicly traded company, according to Netflix.

Netflix executives discussed the sale during a webinar Friday morning.

Netflix is better known as “builders, not buyers,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, told viewers, which included The Center Square. But he added the Warner Bros. purchase was a rare opportunity to entertain the world with great stories.

Netflix has long realized it needed to take bold moves to evolve, Sarandos added.

“Remember, we started off as a DVD-by-mail company,” he said. “Then we moved to streaming, to producing original content, live programming from a U.S.-centric business to a global business.

“In a world where people have so many choices, more choices than ever, how to spend their time, we can’t stand still,” Sarandos said.

Netflix has the global reach to bring Warner Bros.’ content to a bigger audience, Sarandos said.

And Netflix will get a significant increase in its production capacity with Warner Bros.’ studios, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters noted during the webinar.

“It’s going to mean more options for consumers. It’s going to mean more opportunities for creators, more value for our shareholders,” Peters said.