Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery logos are seen in this illustration created on December 5, 2025.
Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Wake up to the shifts shaping the future.
From boardroom shakeups and billion-dollar bets to the latest tech breakthroughs rewriting the rules, The Company Brief is your front-row seat to the stories moving markets and mindsets.
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Netflix prepares all-cash offer for Warner Bros
Netflix is preparing to make an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery's studios and streaming businesses, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The changes are designed to expedite a sale, which will take months to close and have faced opposition from politicians and rival bidder Paramount Skydance, according to the source. Upon close on Tuesday, shares of Netflix were up 1.02% and Warner Bros closed 1.62% higher. Paramount shares remained flat. Netflix's $82.7 billion deal initially consisted of cash and stock for Warner Bros' film and streaming assets, while Paramount offered $108.4 billion in cash for the whole company, including its cable TV business.
Asian stocks inch higher, fragile yen spurs intervention worries
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, buoyed by Japanese shares, as investors braced for a snap election in Japan that could lead to more fiscal stimulus, while worries about central bank independence and benign U.S. inflation data whipsawed currencies. Geopolitical tensions across the globe lifted gold to a record peak and sent oil prices higher as U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to keep protesting, saying help is on the way. Iran, in turn, accused Trump of encouraging political destabilisation and inciting violence. The Japanese yen hit its weakest level since July 2024 at 159.415 per dollar in early Asian hours, as the threat of a market intervention resurfaced. Local media reported that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was considering calling a snap lower house election on February 8. The frail yen and the prospect of more stimulus sent the Nikkei up more than 1% to a record and pushed Japanese government bonds lower, a so-called "Takaichi trade" that appears to have been turbocharged this week as investors worry about the country's fiscal health.
Taiwan seeks arrest of Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus CEO over illegal hires
Taiwan prosecutors on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the chief executive officer of Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus, alleging he was involved in illegal business and recruitment activities in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Shilin District Prosecutors' Office said it had indicted two Taiwanese citizens for helping OnePlus CEO Pete Lau illegally operate a business and recruit more than 70 employees in Taiwan. The allegations fall under Taiwanese law governing relations with China. Over 70 employees were hired in Taiwan to conduct smartphone software application research and development, verification and testing for the Chinese smartphone maker, prosecutors said.