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Good morning and welcome back. In today’s newsletter:
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Inside Paramount’s $108bn hostile bid for Warner Bros
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Investors bet Fed and ECB will diverge on rates
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Revolut offers former staff chance to cash out at 30% discount
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French premier faces razor-edge vote on welfare financing
We begin with the account of how Paramount launched its $108bn hostile bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery, derailing Netflix’s approach for the Hollywood studio.
Desperate texts: Sensing that the chance to seal a blockbuster deal was slipping away, Paramount chief David Ellison made a last-ditch personal appeal on Thursday afternoon to his Warner Bros Discovery counterpart David Zaslav.
“Daivd [sic], I appreciate you’re underwater today so I wanted to send you a quick text,” he wrote. “Know despite the noise of the last 24 hours I have nothing but respect and admiration for you and the company.
“It would be the honor of a lifetime to be your partner and to be the owner of these iconic assets.”
But by then it was too late. The WBD board met hours later to vote unanimously on choosing Netflix’s rival bid for its streaming and studios business, Hollywood assets that include the Warner Bros movie studio and HBO.
Plan B: WBD’s decision in the early hours of Friday sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. In those final hours, Ellison turned to convening his closest partners and advisers to start working on a plan B: launching one of the most audacious hostile bids in history. Here’s how it happened.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
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UK: Bank of England’s policymakers answer questions from MPs.
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Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome.
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Commodities: Anglo American and Teck Resources hold separate general meetings for shareholders to vote on their proposed merger to form the Anglo Teck group.
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Five more top stories
1. Investors have increased bets that interest rates in the Eurozone could rise next year even as the US continues to lower borrowing costs, in a shift that could weigh on an already weak dollar. Swap markets pricing now implies that the ECB is more likely to raise rates in 2026 than cut them.
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Fed chair race: The choice to head the world’s most important central bank could be more consequential in the longer term than the short term, writes Mohamed El-Erian, chair of Gramercy Funds Management.
2. Exclusive: Revolut has offered to buy back the shares of former employees at a 30 per cent discount to its recent fundraising round, in which the company secured a $75bn valuation. The offer is the latest in a series of transactions by the fintech that have handed windfalls to staff.
3. The activist investor who masterminded Engine No. 1’s successful proxy fight against ExxonMobil has built a stake in Siemens Energy and is pushing the company to spin off its wind business. Read more on Ananym Capital’s activist campaign against the German group.
4. French premier Sébastien Lecornu is bracing himself for a knife-edge vote on a welfare package that includes freezing France’s unpopular pension reforms, as right-wing and centrist lawmakers threaten to withhold their support. Read what happens if the welfare bill fails to pass.
5. Exclusive: The City of London Corporation is exploring bringing in outside investors to help finance future housing projects, as the Square Mile’s governing body seeks to tackle a funding shortfall. Read details of the plans under discussion.
The Big Read
© FT montage/Getty Images/PA
Security officials suspect multiple acts of sabotage across Europe that once looked opportunistic may in fact be a co-ordinated campaign. But governments cannot decide how best to respond. Read how Russia’s escalating hybrid warfare is putting Europe to the test.
We’re also reading . . .
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Poised for a comeback: With Labour riven by leadership speculation, Angela Rayner is the bookies’ second favourite to replace Sir Keir Starmer as UK prime minister. Wes Streeting remains the favourite.
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Out of the running: Tony Blair has been dropped from consideration for Donald Trump’s “board of peace” in Gaza, following objections from several Arab and Muslim states.
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Toothaches: Britain has thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who want to work, but slots for the qualification exam seem as hard to get as Glastonbury tickets, writes Sarah O’Connor.
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Taking on Apple: Nothing, a London-based smartphone maker valued at $1.3bn, is slowly building a global brand, writes John Gapper.
The FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign gives people the financial skills that lead to better choices. Please consider supporting the FT’s seasonal appeal at ft.com/donate.
Chart of the day
Australia is the first country to ban social media accounts for children under 16. The legislation comes into force this week. But will it work?
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Take a break from the news . . .
Spotify’s Wrapped this year generated 500mn shares in the first 24 hours and prompted other companies to follow suit. Here’s why Emma Jacobs thinks it’s marketing genius.
© Spotify
