Warners be warned.

It doesn’t take much to see that the increased offer price to be paid for Warners from the parastical Paramount will need be repaid from typical merger actions. Mass staff sackings and office closures to effect savings across the board irrespective of talent.

It is still not too late for Netflix to make a revised offer in which Warners staff are better protected and shareholders given a fair deal. The Ellisons have a track record not to be proud of when it comes to acquisitions. The offer by Oracle for Viewcall America - the accredited originator of Internet TV- in 1997, for a knock down price leaving its shareholders with nothing was a result of stealth and imitation and bully boy legal tactics by Oracle’s subsidiary company Net Channel Inc. It was aided and abetted by the outright betrayal of trust by Viewcall’s UK suppliers and personal inducements offered by Net Channel for “assisting the deal”.

In short Warners should heed the warnings of the past. Weasel words are easily invented to induce the greedy who on past record may come to regret their actions.