Jan 22 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance on Thursday extended the deadline for its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by about a month to Feb. 20, buying it time to convince investors that its bid for the Hollywood studio is better than a competing deal with Netflix.

The company did not raise its bid on Thursday. Only about 168.5 million shares, or 6.8% of Warner Bros.’ outstanding shares, were tendered by the original offer deadline of Jan. 21.

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If successful, the deal would change the landscape of Hollywood by giving suitors ownership of iconic series from “Friends” to “Batman” and the HBO Max streaming service.

The company is now willing to pay $27.75 per share in cash for the David Zaslav-led company’s streaming and studio assets, an offer that was unanimously approved by Warner Bros.’ board of directors.

The bidding war is likely to be fought in a shareholder vote.

Paramount’s stock rose 0.6% in early trading, while Netflix’s stock fell 1.2% and Warner Bros.’s stock was little changed.

“We are confident that we will receive regulatory approval for the Netflix merger,” Warner Bros. said in a statement. He added that the deal offers “tremendous solid value” and that Paramount is continuing with an offer that the board has repeatedly rejected.

Netflix did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The race is expected to culminate in a shareholder vote, likely by April, as Warner investors consider the value of cable assets that Paramount claims are worthless.

Once Paramount receives the go-ahead from regulators at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it will ask Warner Bros. investors to vote “no” on what Paramount calls the “poor Netflix deal.”

Paramount has also indicated that if shareholders reject the deal with Netflix, it will immediately remove Warner Bros.’s board members and replace them with directors willing to consider Paramount’s proposals, the people said.

The company argued that Netflix’s offer depended on taking over $17 billion in debt to the Discovery Global spinoff, which houses Warner Bros.’ cable assets, and was integral to its deal with Netflix. Paramount said that if Warner Bros. is unable to repay all of its debt as planned, the amount shareholders will receive from the sale to Netflix will be significantly reduced.

Warner Bros. said its advisers used three different approaches to value Discovery Global.

By applying a single value to the entire company, the lowest stock price they arrived at was $1.33 per share. The high end of the price range if the spinoff were involved in future transactions was $6.86 per share.

Paramount has repeatedly said its proposal is better than Netflix’s deal and has a clearer path to regulatory approval.

The Ellisons argue that their relationship with President Donald Trump will make regulatory approval easier.

With the addition of HBO Max, Netflix expects to offer more personalized and flexible subscription options to better meet the needs of diverse audiences around the world. The company also sees its theatrical business as a new source of revenue.

However, some analysts argue that the partnership creates near-term uncertainty around integration costs, content spending and the combined company’s high debt.

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