LOS GATOS — In what’s being described as the entertainment industry’s largest transaction ever, Los Gatos-based Netflix announced a $82.7 billion deal Friday morning to acquire Warner Bros. The transaction is almost ten times larger than Amazon’s 2022 purchase of MGM for $8.5 billion.
The bombshell news that Netflix has signed definitive agreement to buy one of Hollywood’s legendary studios brings iconic franchises such as The Sopranos, Batman, Superman and Looney Tunes to the town’s streaming giant, as well as cutting edge contemporary content such as White Lotus.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in the company announcement.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
Netflix, which has called Los Gatos home since its founding in 1997, has grown from a DVD-by-mail service in its “red envelope” days to the world’s dominant streaming platform. The acquisition marks a dramatic expansion of its dominance, adding the Warner Bros. film and television studios along with HBO Max and HBO to its portfolio.
(Drew Penner / Los Gatan File Photo)
Greg Peters, Netflix’s other co-CEO, emphasized the strategic benefits in the announcement, saying the combination will “accelerate our business for decades to come.”
“Warner Bros. has helped define entertainment for more than a century and continues to do so with phenomenal creative executives and production capabilities,” Peters said. “With our global reach and proven business model, we can introduce a broader audience to the worlds they create—giving our members more options, attracting more fans to our best-in-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry and creating more value for shareholders.”
The transaction is expected to close in 12 to 18 months, following the separation of WBD’s Global Networks division—which includes CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery+—into the separately-traded company Discovery Global. That spinoff is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2026.
The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which still must be approved by regulators and Warner Bros. shareholders. While massive, the Warner Bros. deal is not Netflix’s first acquisition. In 2017, the company purchased Millarworld, the comic book publishing company founded by Mark Millar, creator of Kick-Ass and Kingsman. In 2019 it bought the StoryBots franchise from JibJab Bros. Studios and two years later purchased the Roald Dahl Story Company. Netflix also owns Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, which it purchased in 2020.
Netflix maintains its headquarters at 101-131 Albright Way, Los Gatos, off of Winchester Boulevard. Its four buildings were completed eight years ago. Netflix began in Scotts Valley and moved to Los Gatos in 1999. In 2022, it put its former 160,000-square foot Los Gatos headquarters at 100 and 150 Winchester Circle, which it had leased since 2006, up for lease.
(Dinah Cotton / Los Gatan File Photo)
The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported in 2022 that about 20% of the company’s 11,300-employee workforce is Silicon Valley-based.
In 2010, 44% of the town’s sales tax revenues came from Netflix, up from 31% in 2008, according to municipal reports. The tax revenues were affected from the conversion of Netflix’s business model from physical DVDs to streaming.
In 2023, Los Gatos was a venue for the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming Strike, in which members of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists picketed the company’s headquarters during the now-resolved labor dispute.
(Dinah Cotton / Los Gatan File Photo)
The company relies on Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police services. It presented a plaque in 2023 to the Los Gatos Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) expressing appreciation for emergency preparedness training and its importance to the Netflix workforce.
According to the County of Santa Clara’s Department of Tax and Collections, Netflix pays $4.8 million in property taxes on its four buildings at 101, 111, 121 and 131 Albright Way as of the 2025-26 tax year.
