As the industry ramps back up after the holidays, all eyes are back on the bidding race for Warner Bros. Discovery. 

The company’s board will be formally meeting sometime this week to vote on Paramount’s latest offer, according to Bloomberg—and it’s looking like another rejection is on the way for David Ellison, according to the report.

Last month, Netflix entered into a definitive US$82.7-billion agreement to buy the WB’s studio and streaming assets. But rival bidder Paramount launched another attempt, going directly to shareholders with a hostile bid, which WBD urged them to reject. So just before the holidays, Paramount rolled out a revised offer hoping to ease WBD’s concerns. This time, Ellison’s billionaire father Larry offered a US$40.4-billion personal guarantee backing the bid, and Paramount upped the breakup fee to match Netflix’s at US$5.8 billion.

A rejection from the board wouldn’t really be shocking, given its public repudiation of the hostile bid. But how will Paramount respond to another “no”? Will Ellison just let Netflix take the win? Or will he try to increase the value of the bid, which currently stands at US$30 a share?

Although WBD has favored Netflix so far, there are still regulatory concerns—particularly around how the streamer could tinker with the media giant’s theatrical business. 

“Our intention when we buy Warner Bros. will be to continue to release Warner Bros. studio movies in theaters with the traditional windows,” vowed Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at an event in Paris last month. The streamer has also gradually opened up to staging more big-screen events, as seen with last year’s KPop Demon Hunters re-releases and the New Year’s Eve theatrical screenings of the Stranger Things series finale. 

But according to Deadline last week, Netflix is said to be considering a 17-day window for theatrical releases, which will likely face strong pushback from the industry.