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Warner Bros urges shareholders to reject ‘inferior’ Paramount offer

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Warner Bros urges shareholders to reject ‘inferior’ Paramount offer


Warner Bros Discovery has told its shareholders to reject an “inferior” updated bid from Paramount Skydance to buy the company.

It is the second time in less than a month the Warner Bros board has urged its shareholders to say no to the Paramount offer, after announcing on 5 December that Netflix was buying the company’s film and streaming businesses for $72bn (£54bn).

The Warner Bros board said the offer was not in the best interests of shareholders and had not met the criteria of a “superior proposal”.

Paramount had said its offer was “superior” to the Netflix deal, proposing to buy all of Warner Bros entities including its TV channels including CNN and TNT.

The chair of the Warner Bros board of directors, Samuel Di Piazza Jr, said the board remained unanimous in supporting the Netflix deal instead.

“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.

“Our binding agreement with Netflix will offer superior value at greater levels of certainty, without the significant risks and costs Paramount’s offer would impose on our shareholders,” he said in a statement.

One of the key differences between the offers is what parts of Warner Bros each company wants to buy.

The Netflix offer is for the film and streaming parts of Warner Bros, after Warner Bros splits its business into two divisions in the latter part of this year.

Paramount instead wants to buy the whole business, including cable channels such as CNN and its Discovery and free-to-air channels in Europe.

In December, Paramount offered more than $108bn for the entirety of Warner Bros, but the Warner Bros board unanimously recommended its shareholders reject it.

Warner Bros said Paramount amended its offer shortly after, but in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday the Warner Bros board said the offer was “not superior, or even comparable, to the Netflix merger”.

It said Paramount had “repeatedly failed to submit the best proposal” for shareholders, despite being given clear directions for potential solutions to deficiencies in the offer.

Among the issues with accepting the Paramount deal, highlighted in the letter, was the fact Warner Bros would have to pay Netflix $2.8bn for abandoning their merger agreement.

The board also pointed out that Paramount had a market value of $14bn, but was attempting an acquisition that required more than $94bn in debt and equity financing.

“The extraordinary amount of debt financing, as well as other terms of the [Paramount] offer, heighten the risk of failure to close, particularly when compared to the certainty of the Netflix merger,” the letter said.

Paramount has been contacted for comment.

In mid-December, Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos said the deal between the streaming giant and Warner Bros was “in the best interest of stockholders”.



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Ajit Jain: Warren Buffett’s trusted executive Ajit Jain buys apartment in Gurugram for Rs 85 crore – The Times of India

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Ajit Jain: Warren Buffett’s trusted executive Ajit Jain buys apartment in Gurugram for Rs 85 crore – The Times of India


A 7,400 sq ft apartment at DLF The Camellias in Gurugram has been purchased by Berkshire Hathaway’s Ajit Jain. The vice-chairman overseeing insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway, Ajit Jain, is regarded as one of Warren Buffett’s most trusted associates. The apartment has been bought for around Rs 85 crore, according to sources quoted in an ET report.Jain, who has spent most of his time living abroad, recently visited Delhi to complete the deal, the sources said. One person aware of the development said non-resident Indians account for more than 25% of DLF’s ultra-luxury housing portfolio, and Jain is among the most prominent buyers in this segment. The individual added that premium amenities offered at such developments are a major attraction for those who plan to spend only part of the year in India. Jain is widely considered one of the most influential Indian-origin business leaders in the United States.Property consultants noted that since the Covid period, ultra-high-net-worth individuals have increasingly favoured secure, gated condominium projects over independent bungalows, as such residences provide access to a wide range of on-site facilities.ET recently reported that an industrialist purchased four apartments at DLF’s new ultra-luxury project, The Dahlias, for close to Rs 380 crore, making it one of the country’s most expensive apartment transactions.In 2025, Gurugram saw the costliest property deal in the National Capital Region, overtaking Lutyens’ Delhi for the first time. Prices per square foot in the city have surpassed those in Mumbai and reached levels comparable with London and Dubai. Earlier, British entrepreneur Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia had acquired an 11,416 sq ft apartment in the same project for Rs 100 crore.Info-x Software Technology, through its director Rishi Parti, had also purchased a 16,000 sq ft penthouse for Rs 190 crore.In October 2023, ET reported the first Rs 100-crore transaction at the same residential complex on Gurugram’s Golf Course Road.



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Lowe’s earnings beat as sales jump more than 10% despite sluggish housing market

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Lowe’s earnings beat as sales jump more than 10% despite sluggish housing market


A Lowe’s store in Concord, California, US, on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Lowe’s topped Wall Street’s quarterly revenue and earnings expectations on Wednesday, as the retailer’s sales grew more than 10% year over year.

The home improvement company said it expects total sales for the full current fiscal year to range between $92 billion and $94 billion, which would be a roughly 7% to 9% increase over the prior year. It said it projects adjusted earnings per share to be between $12.25 and $12.75 for the full year. Lowe’s said it expects comparable sales, a metric that takes out one-time factors, to be approximately flat to up 2%.

In a news release, CEO Marvin Ellison said the company’s strategy is resonating with its do-it-yourself customers and home professionals, even as higher mortgage rates and slower real estate sales challenge its industry.

“While the housing macro remains pressured, we are focused on directing what is within our control, which includes our ongoing productivity initiatives,” he said. “We remain confident that we are well-positioned to take share regardless of the macro environment.”

Shares of Lowe’s fell in premarket trading as the company’s earnings per share projections for the year fell short of analysts’ consensus expectations of $12.95, according to LSEG.

Here’s what Lowe’s reported for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with Wall Street’s estimates, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $1.98 adjusted vs. $1.94 expected
  • Revenue: $20.58 billion vs. $20.34 billion expected

Lowe’s net income for the three-month period that ended Jan. 30 dropped to $999 million, or $1.78 per share, from $1.13 billion, or $1.99 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time factors, including expenses associated with recent acquisitions, Lowe’s reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.98.

Revenue rose from $18.55 billion in the year-ago period.

Comparable sales for the quarter climbed 1.3%, higher than the 0.2% that analysts were expecting, according to StreetAccount. The company said in a news release that growth was driven by its gains with home professionals, online sales and home services, along with a strong holiday season.

Its competitor, Home Depot, on Tuesday beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations, but stuck by conservative full-year guidance. Its quarterly results reflected that home improvement demand remains tepid, as U.S. consumers continue to put off big projects because of high borrowing costs and housing prices as well as economic concerns.

Like Home Depot, Lowe’s has felt pinched by a tougher backdrop for the industry. Both have acquired companies that cater to contractors and other professionals, which tend to be a steadier source of business.

Last year, Lowe’s acquired Foundation Building Materials, a distributor of drywall, insulation and other interior building products for large residential and commercial professionals, for about $8.8 billion. It also bought Artisan Design Group, which provides design services and installation of flooring, cabinets and countertops for homebuilders and property managers, for about $1.33 billion.

Lowe’s has also made its own moves to reach customers who are delaying home purchases, such as launching a third-party marketplace to expand its mix of merchandise, tapping influencers to raise its visibility on social media and reaching out to young families by relaunching its kids’ program.

As of Tuesday’s close, Lowe’s shares are up nearly 16% year to date, surpassing the S&P 500’s roughly 1% gains during the same period. Its stock has risen about 15% over the past year, almost matching the S&P 500’s approximately 16% gains over that time.



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‘Civilisational shift’: TCS CEO K Krithivasan encourages AI adoption even if it ‘cannibalises revenue’ – The Times of India

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‘Civilisational shift’: TCS CEO K Krithivasan encourages AI adoption even if it ‘cannibalises revenue’ – The Times of India


TCS) CEO K Krithivasan (File photo)

IT giant TCS encourages the use of artificial intelligence by its employees even if it affects their revenue streams, said its CEO, explaining the advantages of the firm’s approach. He described the adoption of AI as a ‘civilisational shift’.Speaking at the annual NTLF event in Mumbai, Managing Director and Chief Executive K Krithivasan said, “”We encourage our associates to go out (to the customers and use AI), even if it means cannibalising our revenues,” adding that the younger staff are faster to use than their senior employees.TCS is ensuring that each of its more than six lakh employees becomes “AI fluent,” Chief Executive Officer K Krithivasan said, emphasising that the company is not “afraid” of artificial intelligence impacting jobs.As part of this push, the company has encouraged associates to actively explore the use of AI in client projects, he said. Krithivasan added that employees are showing strong interest in acquiring AI skills, noting that there has been no need to introduce special incentives to drive adoption.Senior employees often consume large amounts of information but may not always translate that knowledge into practical outcomes, K Krithivasan added, highlighting the need for a more hands-on approach to artificial intelligence.He stressed that AI adoption goes beyond merely issuing prompts on generative AI platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, noting that employees must actively build solutions using AI tools. “It is not about just giving a few prompts,” he said, adding that staffers need to “get their hands dirty.”Krithivasan described AI as a “civilizational shift,” calling it a form of democratised knowledge capable of addressing problems that have remained unsolved for decades.He observed that AI has increasingly become a board-level priority, with chief information officers being tasked to identify and deploy relevant solutions. While AI is expected to drive productivity gains, he said TCS remains equally focused on delivering tangible benefits to customers through the technology.Addressing concerns around AI governance, Krithivasan said the company is also exploring frameworks where AI systems can help regulate and monitor other AI applications through the use of multiple agents.



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