The surge in global mega-deals in 2025 looks set to continue into 2026 as companies take advantage of the global interest rate-cutting cycle, an abundance in capital and shifts toward more permissive regulatory stances in some markets (most notably the US).
Against this backdrop, we take a look at two of the most high-profile mega-deals this year - Rio Tinto and Glencore’s failed A$347 billion merger and the blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros by Paramount for US$81 billion (which shows that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again).
Acquisition of Glencore by Rio Tinto
On 8 January 2026, Rio Tinto and Glencore confirmed a leak reported by the Financial Times that they had entered into negotiations to create a consolidated resource giant with an estimated enterprise value exceeding A$347 billion.
Both Rio Tinto and Glencore’s announcements made clear that, given Glencore is listed on the London Stock Exchange, the merger was subject to the UK Takeover Code - and in particular the “put up or shut up” provisions which meant Rio Tinto had a deadline of 28 days (until 5 February 2026) to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away for a minimum period of 6 months. On 5 February 2026, Rio Tinto confirmed that it would not make a bid for Glencore and that it was “no longer considering a possible merger or other business combination” with Glencore given failure to “reach an agreement that would deliver value to its shareholders”.
Ultimately, it appears that regulatory hurdles, strategic disconnects and (most importantly) valuation thwarted the possibility of the mega-merger. Rio Tinto reportedly wanted proforma ownership of the combined company which, according to Glencore, would significantly undervalue Glencore’s underlying relative value contribution to the merged group. There were also concerns over the ability to obtain the necessary antitrust approvals from regulators in the US, the UK, Europe, Australia and China given the merged entity would create the world’s largest copper producer, controlling about 7% of global mined copper.
Acquisition of Warner Bros. by Paramount
In late October 2025, Warner Bros announced that it had received “unsolicited interest from multiple parties”, leading the Board to commence a strategic review with the objective of maximising shareholder value.
On 5 December 2025, Warner Bros and Netflix entered a “definitive agreement" under which Netflix would acquire Warner Bros, including its streaming and studios divisions. The deal was a cash and stock transaction valued at US$27.75 per Warner Bros share, with a total equity value of approximately US$72 billion and enterprise value of approximately US$82.7 billion. Each Warner Bros shareholder would receive US$23.35 per share in cash and US$4.501 in shares of Netflix common stock (subject to a ‘collar’ structure).
Paramount swiftly countered with an all cash US$30 per share tender offer for the whole of Warner Bros (streaming, studios and global networks divisions). Paramount accused Warner Bros of failing to engage with its six prior proposals and took its bid directly to shareholders.
Warner Bros’ board repeatedly recommended the Netflix deal and rejected Paramount’s approaches, even after Paramount enhanced its offer with an irrevocable US$40.4 billion personal guarantee from Larry Ellison (controlling shareholder of Paramount) and US$0.25 per share ticking fee to underscore regulatory certainty. On 20 January 2026, Warner Bros and Netflix simplified their agreement to an all cash structure, still at US$27.75 per share.
On 17 February 2026, Warner Bros’ Board scheduled a Special Meeting for 20 March 2026 for shareholders to vote on the Netflix transaction and continued to unanimously recommend the Netflix deal. Warner Bros simultaneously obtained a narrow seven-day waiver from Netflix to engage with Paramount, inviting Paramount's “best and final” offer (over which Netflix had matching rights). Once the seven-day waiver period lapsed, Warner Bros announced its intention to continue engaging with Paramount to determine whether Paramount’s revised offer (US$31 per share, a daily ticking fee equal to US$0.25 per quarter, a US$7 billion fee in the event of failure to obtain regulatory approvals and a US$2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix) was superior to Netflix’s proposal.
Warner Bros ultimately confirmed that Paramount’s offer was superior. On 27 February 2026 Warner Bros and Paramount announced that they had entered a definitive agreement for Paramount to acquire Warner Bros for $31 per share, an equity value of US$81 billion. Netflix had declined to match Paramount’s offer the day prior, explaining that the deal was “no longer financially attractive”.
Streaming wars: the deal timeline
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