The U.S. has announced the seizure of the Bella-1 for violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel, known as the Marinera after recently reflagging to Russia, was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after…
NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.
Warner’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed Skydance-owned Paramount’s overtures — and urged shareholders just weeks ago to back its the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.
WATCH: Proposed Warner Bros. sale prompts concerns among Hollywood’s creative community
Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday that its board determined Paramount’s offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.
“Paramount’s offer continues to provide insufficient value, including terms such as an extraordinary amount of debt financing that create risks to close and lack of protections for our shareholders if a transaction is not completed,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chair Samuel Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement. In contrast, he added, the company’s agreement with Netflix “will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty.”
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s hostile bid is still on the table. Warner shareholders currently have until Jan. 21 to “tender” their shares.
Late last month, Paramount announced an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Oracle founder Larry Ellison — who is the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison — to back $40.4 billion in equity financing for the company’s offer. Paramount also increased its promised payout to shareholders to $5.8 billion if the deal is blocked by regulators, matching Netflix’s breakup fee.
In its Wednesday letter to shareholders, Warner expressed concerns about a potential deal with Paramount. Warner said it essentially considers the offer a leveraged buyout, which includes a lot of debt, and also pointed to operating restrictions that it said were imposed by Paramount’s offer and could “hamper WBD’s ability to perform” throughout a transaction.
The battle for Warner and the value of each offer grows complicated because Netflix and Paramount want different things. Netflix’s proposed acquisition includes only Warner’s studio and streaming business, including its legacy TV and movie production arms and platforms like HBO Max. But Paramount wants the entire company — which, beyond studio and streaming, includes networks like CNN and Discovery.
If Netflix is successful, Warner’s news and cable operations would be spun off into their own company, under a previously-announced separation.
A merger with either company could take over a year to close — and will attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny along the way. Due to its size and potential impact, it will almost certainly trigger a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which could sue to block the transaction or request changes. Other countries and regulators overseas may also challenge the merger. And politics are expected to come into play under President Donald Trump, who has made unprecedented suggestions about his personal involvement on whether a deal will go through.
Trade groups across the entertainment industry have continued to sound the alarm about both deals.
In a statement addressed to a Congressional antitrust subcommittee on Wednesday, Cinema United — which represents more than 60,000 movie screens worldwide — reiterated it was “deeply concerned” that Netflix’s acquisition could harm both moviegoers and people who work in theaters, pointing to the streaming giant’s past reliance on its online platform. The group said its concerns were “no less serious” for Paramount’s bid — warning of consequences of further consolidation overall, which it said could result in job losses and less diversity in filmmaking.
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Sobi® (STO: SOBI) today announced that topline results from the Phase 2a EMBRACE study evaluating Gamifant® (emapalumab) for interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-driven sepsis (IDS), showed proof-of-concept with observed improvement in organ dysfunction and survival.
Based on the observed data from this research collaboration with the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS), Sobi and HISS will advance emapalumab in IDS and discuss the next clinical development steps with regulatory authorities. An update on next steps will be provided in due course and data from the EMBRACE study will be published at an upcoming medical conference.
About sepsis and IFNγ-driven sepsis (IDS)
Sepsis is a serious condition in response to an infection that can lead to organ failure and is a leading global cause of mortality. A recent large study, published in eBioMedicine in 20241 describes different sepsis endotypes, suggesting varying endotypes require differentiated treatment strategies. Approximately 20% of the patients studied are of the newly described IFNγ-driven sepsis (IDS) endotype. IDS is marked by elevated levels of CXCL9 and detection of IFNγ and poor clinical outcomes, with a 28-day mortality rate ranging from 40 to 43%.
About the EMBRACE study
The EMBRACE study (NCT06694701) was a Phase 2a, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted at 24 sites in Greece. The study was sponsored by the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS) as part of a research collaboration with Sobi. The trial investigated whether Gamifant, an anti-IFNγ antibody, can improve clinical outcomes in patients with the interferon gamma-driven sepsis (IDS) endotype and absence of sepsis-induced immunoparalysis. IDS is characterized by elevated levels of CXCL9 and detectable IFNγ and is associated with poor patient outcomes. By targeting this inflammation pathway, the EMBRACE trial aims to reduce mortality, improve organ function, and accelerate recovery. The trial design includes three arms (a total of 75 patients enrolled), two groups receiving Gamifant, (low and high doses) alongside standard-of-care treatment, and one group receiving placebo alongside standard-of-care treatment. The primary endpoint is a ≥1.4-point decrease in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score from baseline to the end of treatment (28 days). Secondary endpoints include 28-day mortality, safety, pharmacokinetics, and changes in key inflammatory biomarkers such as CRP, IL-6, ferritin, IFNγ, and CXCL9.
About Gamifant
Gamifant® (emapalumab) is an anti-interferon gamma (IFNγ) monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralises IFNγ. When IFNγ is secreted in an uncontrolled manner, hyperinflammation occurs within the body. Gamifant is indicated for administration through intravenous infusion over one hour twice per week until haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
In the USA, Gamifant is indicated for the treatment of adult and paediatric (newborn and older) patients with primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) with refractory, recurrent or progressive disease or intolerance with conventional HLH therapy. Gamifant is also approved in the US for the treatment of adult and pediatric (newborn and older) patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)/macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) in known or suspected Still’s disease with an inadequate response or intolerance to glucocorticoids, or with recurrent MAS.
Primary HLH is a rare syndrome of hyperinflammation that usually occurs within the first year of life and can rapidly become fatal unless diagnosed and treated.
About HISS
The Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS) is a non-profit, academic institute which fosters the activities of young researchers in the fields of systemic inflammation and sepsis. Since 2010, HISS has published 125 peer-reviewed publications including the publication of guidelines for sepsis in Greece, led the organization of 15 conferences, and of 35 clinical studies. HISS focuses on precision immunotherapy and is the Sponsor of the major randomized controlled trials SAVE-MORE and ImmunoSep. The data from these studies have been published in journals such as Nature Medicine and JAMA. 2,3. For more information, please visit https://sepsis.gr .
Sobi
Sobi® is a global biopharma company unlocking the potential of breakthrough innovations, transforming everyday life for people living with rare diseases. Sobi has approximately 1,900 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. In 2024, revenue amounted to SEK 26 billion. Sobi’s share (STO:SOBI) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. More about Sobi at sobi.com and LinkedIn.
Contacts
For details on how to contact the Sobi Investor Relations Team, please click here. For Sobi Media contacts, click here.
This information is information that Sobi is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 6 PM CET on 7 January 2026.
Reference
1: Interferon-gamma-driven elevation of CXCL9: a new sepsis endotype independently associated with mortality. Giamarellos-Bourboulis, Evangelos J. et al. eBioMedicine, Volume 109, 105414
2: Early treatment of COVID-19 with anakinra guided by soluble urokinase plasminogen receptor plasma levels: a double-blind, randomized controlled phase 3 trial. Kyriazopoulou, Evdoxia et al. Nature Medicine 2021 Oct;27(10):1752-1760.
3: Precision Immunotherapy to Improve Sepsis Outcomes. The ImmunoSep Randomized Clinical Trial. Giamarellos-Bourboulis EJ, et al. JAMA, DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.24175.