Warner Bros Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to USD 31 per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.The company previously offered USD 30 per share when it first went directly to Warner stakeholders with its all-cash, hostile bid in December, just days after Warner struck a deal to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix for USD 27.75 per share.Beyond upping its proposed purchase price, Warner said on Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to USD 7 billion.Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee” payable to shareholders if its deal doesn’t go through now by the end of September.After briefly reopening talks with Paramount, Warner earlier confirmed that it had received a revised offer and was reviewing it. When announcing the increased price, Warner said that Paramount’s revised proposal “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior offer as defined under its current agreement with Netflix, but the company’s board has still not actually determined whether Paramount’s offer is better than Netflix’s.When reached on Tuesday afternoon, a Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.A Warner Bros Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape – bringing HBO Max, cult-favourite titles like ‘Harry Potter’ and, depending on who wins the Netflix v Paramount tug-of-war, potentially even CNN under a new roof.Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros in its entirety, including networks like CNN and Discovery. But Netflix only wants to buy Warner’s studio and streaming business.Warner’s board has repeatedly backed this deal, and on Tuesday maintained that its agreement with Netflix still stands.If the offer is deemed superior, Netflix would have four days to match or walk away.Paramount, Warner and Netflix have spent the last couple of months in a heated back and forth over who has a stronger deal. But many lawmakers and entertainment trade groups warn that either buyout of all or parts of Warner’s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players.Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns – and a Warner sale could come down to who gets the regulatory greenlight.The US Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so.Both Paramount and Netflix have argued that their proposals are good for consumers and the wider industry. And the companies have taken aim at each other publicly with regulatory arguments.Paramount has pointed to Netflix’s much larger market value. And it’s argued that if the streaming giant acquires Warner, it would only give it more dominance in the subscription video on demand space. But Netflix is trying to convince regulators that it’s up against broader video libraries, particularly Google’s YouTube.Netflix has also said that since it doesn’t currently have the same studios and film distribution that Warner does, it would preserve and grow those operations – whereas a Warner-Paramount merger would combine two of Hollywood’s last five major studios, as well as theatrical channels and news networks.