Cinema creators, Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Skydance, are moving into a lawsuit after a recent bidding war went south. 

Paramount announced a hostile takeover bid for WBD in September of last year, which they declared just days after Netflix made an offer to merge with WBD according to ABC News. Four months later, WBD accepted Netflix’s offer of $72 billion instead of Paramount’s higher bid of $77.9 billion, leaving Paramount suspicious of something illegal in their deal. Paramount executives announced their decision to file a lawsuit against WBD on Jan. 12, CEO David Ellison says, “We remain perplexed that WBD never attempted to clarify or negotiate any of the terms.” Finance Yahoo.

According to Reuters, Paramount filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery to find out the full process as to why WBD was in favor of Netflix’s offer. Camillo Wann, sophomore, says in an interview that he can see why Paramount would want to push for the hostile takeover but believes they’re going overboard to get what they want.

As of February, Ellison says, “We are making meaningful enhancements – backing this offer with billions of dollars, providing shareholders with certainty in value, a clear regulatory path, and protection against market volatility.”  As of Tuesday Paramount also claimed that they would fund “the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix if that deal were to fall through, and it would also eliminate a potential $1.5 billion refinancing cost of debt” according to CNBC. Redbird Capital Partners, who is helping Paramount’s funding, and Paramount will continue going directly to shareholders to make their case if the WBD’s board declines again. 

It’s still unclear what will happen next as the lawsuit is still current, however Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos is still certain that WBD will accept their deal despite the many generous offers from Paramount.