Warner's acquisition case heats up! It is rumored that Paramount (PSKY.US) is considering launching "level one combat readiness" and taking their opponents to court.

Local time on Thursday, according to informed sources, in the process of bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD.US), the Paramount (PSKY.US) team and its partner RedBird Capital are considering taking an extreme "Level One alert" approach. It is reported that the Ellison family is currently the actual controller and majority shareholder of Paramount-SkyDance, holding a controlling stake of 77.5%, while RedBird Capital holds the remaining approximately 22.5% interest. Currently, the Ellison family and RedBird Capital are considering withdrawing from the bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery, including the previously hostile acquisition route, and instead taking the HBO parent company to court, alleging flaws in the entire bidding process and claiming that Warner Bros. Discovery favored Netflix's "inferior bid". "The final option is to go to 'Level One alert', which could mean filing a lawsuit alleging that Warner Bros. Discovery favored Netflix's lower bid in the bidding process," the report quoted a direct source as saying. According to the report, sources within Paramount claim that the board of directors and management have always favored Netflix's cash and stock proposal because Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has a close relationship with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. However, sources within Warner Bros. counter that Zaslav has met with the Ellison family multiple times before reaching any agreement with the streaming giant, spending far more time with them than with anyone from Netflix. The Paramount consortium has made at least six full acquisition offers to Warner Bros. Discovery and has raised the bid from $30 per share, while also bringing in over $40 billion in personal equity financing guarantees from Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison and higher breakup fees. Warner Bros. Discovery has not publicly responded to this revised offer and Ellison's financing guarantee. While Warner Bros. Discovery and its shareholders acknowledge the necessity of the aforementioned revisions, they still expect the consortium led by David Ellison to offer a higher price. Sources indicate that it is widely expected that the bid will be raised to around $33 or $34 per share.