Activist investor Ancora Holdings is challenging Warner Bros. Discovery's planned sale of its studios and streaming business to Netflix, ramping up pressure ahead of a shareholder vote.
Ancora has built roughly a $200 million stake in WBD and is planning to oppose the company's $72 billion deal to sell its movie and television studios and HBO Max streaming service to Netflix, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ancora believes WBD failed to adequately engage with David Ellison's Paramount Skydance after it made a rival all-cash offer for the entire business, including its cable-network group, at $30 a share.
Netflix's agreement, struck in December, calls for the streaming giant to pay $27.75 a share in cash for WBD's studios and HBO Max.
Ancora, a roughly $11 billion fund that has a history of lobbying in the middle of deals, emailed WBD CEO David Zaslav on Tuesday to say that it is considering launching its own proxy fight if WBD's board does not "negotiate the best deal for shareholders with Paramount."
Although Ancora's stake is less than 1% of WBD's shares, the activist plans to continue buying and could help rally other investors around opposing the Netflix transaction, the people added.
In its campaign, Ancora has questioned conflicts of interest involving Zaslav, asking whether he favored the Netflix deal to obtain an executive role with the streaming company after the transaction closes.
Paramount's rival offer includes agreeing to pay the $2.8 billion termination fee WBD would owe Netflix should that deal collapse and adding a "ticking fee" of 25 cents a share, which it would pay to WBD shareholders for each quarter its deal has not closed.
A shareholder vote on the transaction is expected next month.
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