Event: Danielle Kaye

Warner Bros Discovery has agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a high-stakes bidding war after Netflix walked away from its agreement with the HBO Max owner.The deal, with an equity value of $81 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the companies said Friday.On Thursday, Netflix declined to match Paramount's latest $31-per-share offer, which Warner Bros deemed superior to the streaming pioneer's $27.75-per-share agreement for its studio and streaming assets.

Paramount. | Photo Credit: AP Paramount Skydance announced on Friday (February 27, 2026) that it will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valuing the combined company at $110 billion, after beating Netflix in a bruising bidding war.The agreement ends a five-month bidding saga and creates an entertainment behemoth whose impact on a struggling media landscape — and connections to Donald Trump’s White House — will be closely scrutinized.The merged entity will include CNN, HBO and Nickelodeon as well as some of Hollywood’s most valuable franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible and SpongeBob SquarePants.Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding Warner Bros. Discovery shares, implying an equity value of $81 billion — and $110 billion when including the debt Paramount will take on.The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the companies said.“Our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” said Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison.The deal closes a saga that ended Thursday when Netflix walked away, unwilling to match Paramount’s latest offer. Questions now pivot to the Ellison family, which will control a constellation of media properties spanning the globe.Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison and largely financed his son’s takeover of Paramount and his subsequent bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of President Trump. Both Paramount and Netflix have sought to curry favor with the White House, with Paramount winning out.The Paramount offer includes financing from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds…

MEE revealed Saudi crown prince sent letter to UAE national security advisor saying Riyadh was 'shocked' by sanctions allegations Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed in Riyadh, on 3 September 2025 (Abdulla al-Bedwani/UAE Presidency/AFP) Published date: 27 February 2026 18:38 GMT | Last update: 28 sec ago US President Donald Trump told his UAE counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed, that Saudi Arabia asked him to impose sanctions on the emirates over their support for Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), The New York Times reported on Friday. The report says that Trump delivered the message to Mohammed bin Zayed in a November phone call, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the White House. Middle East Eye was the first to reveal the Saudi crown prince’s plan to lobby Trump against the UAE for its support of the RSF, whose month-long siege of el-Fasher in Darfur was described by a United Nations panel last week as bearing the “hallmarks of genocide”. Following MEE’s report, Trump stated at a Saudi-US business forum in Washington, “His Majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” adding, “We’re going to start working on it.” Saudi Arabia initially tried to position itself as a mediator to the civil war raging between the RSF and Sudanese army commander Abdul Fattah al-Burhan. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Sudan sits directly across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia. However, as the UAE funnelled support to the RSF, Riyadh has emerged as a backer of the Sudanese army, along with Egypt and Turkey. Saudi crown prince sent complaint letter to UAE 'spy sheikh' about Yemen, Sudan Read More…

Netflix’s stock is surging as investors applauded its decision to exit the race for Warner Bros Discovery, a months-long bidding war with Paramount Skydance for some of Hollywood’s most prized assets.The stock jumped more than 10 percent on Friday. That came on the heels of Netflix’s decision on Thursday evening that it would not match Paramount’s latest $31 per share bid or raise its offer of $27.75 a share for Warner Bros’s studio and streaming assets, stating that the deal was “no longer financially attractive”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Canadian PM Carney heads to India on ‘significant’ trip to consolidate tieslist 2 of 4Second US drone laser incident this month prompts Texas airspace closurelist 3 of 4‘Like it’s 2024 again’: Trump takes centre stage in 2026 midterm electionslist 4 of 4Has Trump’s trade strategy lost leverage?end of listWarner had given Netflix four business days to come up with a counteroffer for Paramount’s latest bid — but Netflix, instead, responded less than two hours later, declining to raise its proposal. It said the new price it would have to pay made the deal “no longer financially attractive”.“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros′ iconic brands,” Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a joint statement. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”The decision was welcomed by investors. Shares of the streaming giant had shed more than 18 percent since Netflix announced its deal with Warner Bros on December 5.The latest move is a “tick in the box” for discipline, said Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot.“What you want from a management team is an ability to look at acquisitions, value them, pay what they think is…

Recently discovered papers reveal orders to kill Palestinian civilians on sight to 'cleanse' territories of Arabs Picture released in January 1948 shows Palestinian Arabs leaving their village and neighbourhoods in Jerusalem to march against a Jewish settlement in Palestine and fleeing a Haganah attack during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (AFP) Published date: 27 February 2026 16:51 GMT | Last update: 3 sec ago Newly uncovered documents dating from the 1948 Nakba that saw the creation of the state of Israel reveal the extent to which Zionist fighters were ordered to "annihilate" civilians and their villages. Haaretz obtained documents belonging to Rafi Kotzer, a member of the Golani infantry brigade and a founder of the 12th Battalion's commando unit, after they were discovered near bins in Jerusalem. Among the documents were logbooks, notes and summaries from 1948 referencing orders given by Israeli officials to kill Palestinian civilians, including women and children. Some of the documents approved by the military censor relate to the trial of Shmuel Lahis, the only Israeli commander ever sentenced for killing Arabs during the 1948 war. Testimony at the trial included that of Yisrael Carmi, a battalion commander in the 7th Brigade, describing the Zionist conquest of Beersheba in October 1948. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "I conquered the city. In mopping up that area, I gave an order to annihilate anyone who appeared in the street, whether they resisted or did not resist. An order was given to destroy everything," he said at the trial. "After the conquest of the police station - after the surrender - the murder stopped. Until then, everyone was killed - women and children and everyone. Then an order was given to the…

Multiple U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey players have apologized for their team's response after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "have to" invite the women's team to the White House along with them.The gold-winning men's players took a congratulatory call from Trump last weekend as they celebrated their victory over Canada in the Olympic final, and the president extended an invitation to Washington.Locker room footage showed several players laughing as the president said that he would be "impeached" if he did not also invite the U.S. women, who also won gold, to his State of the Union address.

Danielle Kaye,Business reporterandNardine Saad,Los Angeles, California Getty ImagesNetflix has backed away from its proposal to buy Warner Bros Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to win a months-long battle for one of Hollywood's most storied studios in a deal worth around $111bn (£82.2bn).Warner Bros, which put itself up for sale last year, on Thursday said Paramount's latest bid was "superior" to the one from Netflix, which in turn refused to raise its offer.Netflix executives say they have declined to match Paramount's bid as "the deal is no longer financially attractive" at that price.The buyer would gain control of the iconic studio along with its films and media networks - a takeover that could significantly reshape the media landscape.Last December, Warner Bros agreed to a takeover offer from Netflix for some of its assets, in a deal worth roughly $82bn (£61bn) including debt.Paramount then made a rival proposal, which was rebuffed by Warner Bros, but an increased offer was made earlier this week, boosted by $1 per share."The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval," Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. "However, we've always been disciplined.""This transaction was always a 'nice to have' at the right price, not a 'must have' at any price," the Netflix executives added.The announcement came just hours after Sarandos had visited the White House on Thursday.It caps off a dramatic months-long saga that - if approved by regulators - is likely to reshape Hollywood.But California Attorney General Rob Bonta said later on Thursday that the potential merger "is not a done deal"."These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny - the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review," he wrote…