WBD investors told to reject Paramount deal; Bondi gunman charged

Happy Thursday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest business and political headlines from around the world.

We start with the corporate battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance over who will own Warner Bros. Discovery.

The saga has taken another turn, with multiple news outlets reporting that WBD told shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance – even though it would pay them more – in favour of a deal from Netflix because it would be better for both customers and creators.

Paramount launched a hostile bid for WBD last week, taking a $30 per share, all-cash offer directly to shareholders, which has an enterprise value of US$108.4 billion. Paramount’s boss, David Ellison, argued the offer is better than Netflix’s and that its deal has a better chance of gaining regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s proposed cash-and-stock offer for WBD’s streaming and studio assets has an enterprise value of $83b.

Overnight, WBD chair Sam Di Piazza told shareholders to reject the offer. “Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender offer, the board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” he said in a statement reported by CNBC.

He said he was confident that WBD’s merger with Netflix represents "superior" value to shareholders.

The rejection sets the stage for Paramount to make a higher bid, as Ellison told CNBC last week that its $30 per share bid is not the company’s best and final offer.

Harry Potter is within the Warner Bros stable.

To Australia now, where the country continues to deal with the fallout from the Bondi Beach shooting.

Naveed Akram, who is the surviving gunman from Sunday’s mass shooting, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act, the BBC reported.

Akram, who is 24, was critically injured in the incident. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed by police.

The first funeral of a Bondi attack victim, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was held at a synagogue in Sydney’s eastern suburbs yesterday, the ABC reported.

Meanwhile, the ABC also reports that the Philippine National Police is investigating the movements of the Bondi Beach shooters in the lead-up to the attack, including whether they spent time in an area with a history of violent Islamist militants.

Yesterday, immigration officials confirmed the father-and-son gunmen travelled to the Philippines for almost the entire month of November. It is understood they arrived in Davao, the largest city on the southern island of Mindanao, before likely travelling on to other destinations.

A senior counter-terrorism official told the ABC they suspect the pair received “military-style training” while in the Philippines.

People have laid flowers and other mementos to honour those who were killed and injured in the attack at Bondi beach. (Source: Wikimedia Commons.)

Moving to Europe, where German lawmakers have backed a more than €50 billion defence spending package for missiles, artillery, armoured vehicles, satellite systems and new uniforms as Berlin races to overhaul its military, Agence France-Presse reported.

Germany’s defence ministry said in a statement it is sending a signal to the Nato alliance and its partners that Germany is “leading the way”.

The ramp-up in spending follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the United States’ weakening commitment to Europe’s security since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Germany aims to increase the number of active soldiers in the military to at least 450,000 by 2035 from about 184,000 today. 

Unsurprisingly, European defence stocks have jumped on the news.

Staying in Europe, UK inflation fell sharply to 3.2% in November, increasing the chances of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England at its final meeting this week, CNBC reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected inflation to stand at 3.5% in the 12 months to November. The fall has been attributed to declining food prices, which traditionally increase in the run-up to Christmas.

Core inflation – which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices – rose 3.2% in the year to November, down from 3.4% in October.

The data, which comes after unemployment in the UK rose to 5.1%, is likely to encourage the Bank of England to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%.

Finally this morning, the son of famed Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, Nick, has made his first court appearance after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his father and mother, Michele Reiner.

CNN reported the 32-year-old was held without bail pending an arraignment.

Nick had been staying at the guest house on his parents’ property, according to detectives. Investigators also learned of his history of drug addiction and an argument that occurred between him and his parents at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party the night before their deaths.

His attorney, Alan Jackson, said the deaths of Rob and Michele were a “devastating tragedy” outside the courthouse. He called for a careful analysis moving forward, saying there are “very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.”