Some of Wall Street’s biggest rainmakers are vying for a windfall as the Paramount-Netflix bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery reaches a climax, capping a blockbuster year for mergers and acquisitions.

Streaming giant Netflix appeared to win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery last week, when the two firms announced their merger. Within days, however, Paramount announced its hostile bid, meaning Paramount plans to appeal to Warner Bros. Discover shareholders in an effort to overcome the wishes of management.

A high-stakes bidding war heated up this week when Paramount made a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, challenging a multibillion-dollar Netflix deal to buy the entertainment juggernaut.

When David Zaslav became Warner Bros Discovery’s boss in 2022, Hollywood was sceptical of the insignia-vest-wearing east-coaster whose Discovery network was known for reality fare such as 90-Day Fiancé and Dr Pimple Popper .

For now, the outcome remains highly uncertain. Any acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would likely be reviewed by the Trump administration, which could move to block a proposed merger over anti-monopoly concerns, according to antitrust experts from Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and the Cardozo Law School.

Paramount Skydance Corp. and Netflix Inc. — the entertainment heavyweights locked in a bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. — are girding for a battle they predict will stretch well into 2026.

Paramount Skydance says that the Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings withdrew from its bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery to avert a national security review.

Netflix and Warner Bros. have a deal, but regulators must approve the move. The question of how to define Netflix's market is a key consideration.