Streaming giant Netflix has agreed to acquire film and television studio Warner Bros Discovery for nearly $83 billion, the two US companies announced on Friday.

The acquisition, which gives Netflix access to a vast film catalogue as well as the prestigious streaming service HBO Max, is the largest consolidation deal in the entertainment industry since Disney’s $71bn acquisition of Fox in 2019.

The transaction values Warner Bros Discovery at $27.75 per share, implying a total equity value of approximately $72.0bn and an enterprise value — including debt — of around $82.7bn.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares closed at $24.54 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

Over the decades, Warner Brothers has produced film classics including Casablanca and Citizen Kane, as well as more recent blockbuster shows including ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and the Harry Potter movies.

“Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, which has produced global hits including ‘Stranger Things’, KPop Demon Hunters and ‘Squid Game’.

“Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, in the statement.

The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, is to close within 12 to 18 months, they said.

Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Bilal Bin Saqib announced that Pakistan is set to launch its first “stablecoin” as part of its drive to make virtual assets a part of the economy.

The PVARA is an autonomous federal body governed by a multi-stakeholder board including the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue. Its mandate is to curb illicit finance, protect consumers and unlock opportunities in fintech, remittances and tokenised assets, while fostering Shariah-compliant innovation through regulatory sandboxes.

A stablecoin, according to Bloomberg, is a digital token whose value is intrinsically linked to a physical currency, such as the US dollar, making it more stable than other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.­

Speaking at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, the crypto czar said that Pakistan will “definitely launch” a stablecoin, adding that the country is working on both that and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

“I think it is a great way to collateralise the government debt,” Saqib said. “We want to be at the forefront of this financial digital innovation that is happening. Why should we be at the tail-end of it when we have the muscle and the adoption?”

The Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) said that Saqib also participated in a panel discussion on the future of virtual assets and emerging-market regulation, according to a post on their X account.

“He emphasised that for countries like Pakistan, clear and innovation-friendly crypto regulation is a key driver of economic growth,” the post read. “Pakistan’s work on stablecoins, data frameworks, and banking the unbanked can become valuable case studies for the world.”

Earlier this year, Saqib unveiled the country’s first government-led Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. He announced the reserve after delivering a keynote address before an elite audience, which included United States Vice President JD Vance, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, at the Bitcoin Vegas 2025 in Las Vegas.

In May, the government announced the allocation of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the first phase of a national initiative to power Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­t­­an and Italy are currently working to enhance collaboration between the two countries in the agriculture sector, and are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on professional capacity building and extension in agriculture early next year.

Minister for National Food Security and Resea­rch Rana Tanveer Hus­sain held a meeting with Italian Minister of Agri­culture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, in Rome on Thursday, and invited him to visit Pakistan early next year to sign the memorandum of understanding, which he said would help advan­­ce bilateral cooperation.

Mr Lollobrigida said he looked forward to finalising and signing the up­­coming MoU on Profes­sional Capacity Building and Extension in Agricul­ture, which aims to stren­gthen agricultural skills through technical and vocational training.

He added that the Italian Trade Agency, which opened its office in Islamabad in mid-2023, is supporting a 20 million euros project for the horticulture sector to enha­nce employment opportunities for Pakistani workers at home and abroad.

Rana Tanveer expres­sed readiness to host the Italian delegation for the sixth Joint Economic Com­mission and the second Joint Working Group under the Labour Accord, recalling that the first joint working group was held in Rome in Septem­ber this year. The two countries signed the MoU on labour in May this year, which is termed as an important step in broa­dening bilateral cooperation.

Ministers in Rome agree to finalise MoU early next year

The two ministers reviewed progress on the ongoing olive sector projects, including the Olive Culture Scale-Up Project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The programme follows the earlier Olive Culture Pro­ject (2022-2024) and the Promotion of Olive Culti­vation on Commer­cial Scale in Pakistan (Phase II, 2021-2026).

Mr Tanveer thanked Italy for its continued technical support and requested further cooperation in modern agricultural machinery, research, and improved techniques for olive oil extraction.

Mr Lollobrigida gave a detailed briefing on the systems used in Italy to ensure quality control across the entire olive oil production chain, and said his ministry was ready to share relevant experience with Pakistan.

He also proposed forming a joint technical group to follow up on cooperation in research, mechanisation and modern olive oil extraction, and stated that Italy would soon offer an additional memorandum of understanding on the subject.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2025