Oracle Co-Founder Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world, has said he will personally guarantee $40.4bn for Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount Skydance, which is headed by Ellison’s son David, is seeking to persuade Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) investors to back its bid, rather than selling to Netflix.
Larry Ellison’s guarantee, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday, aims to allay the WBD board’s doubts about Paramount's financing and the lack of full Ellison family backing, which had pushed it toward the offer from Netflix.
WBD’s board last week recommended that its shareholders reject the $108.4bn offer from Paramount for the whole company, including cable TV assets, due to suspicions over its financing and the lack of a full guarantee from the Ellison family.
It reiterated its calls for WBD shareholders to vote in favour of Netflix’s rival $82.7bn offer for its streaming and studios businesses.
Meanwhile, Netflix has bolstered the financing of its offer by refinancing part of a $59bn bridging loan, signing a $5bn revolving credit facility and two $10bn delayed-draw term loans, according to regulatory filings.
The acquisition of WBD would bring either Netflix or Paramount some of the most prized franchises in film and television, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and DC Studios, as well as networks such as CNN.
Skydance Media and Paramount Global recently completed their long-planned $8.4bn merger. Discover more here.
Sweden’s SVT wins EBU Technology & Innovation Award 2026
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has named Swedish public broadcaster SVT as the winner of its Technology & Innovation Award 2026.
Irdeto names Axel Gallant as CEO
Digital platform cybersecurity firm Irdeto has named Canal+ executive Axel Gallant as CEO.
.jpg)
IBC launches study to map the media technology talent pipeline
IBC has launched How Did You Get Here?, a study designed to better understand how people enter and build careers in media technology.
Netflix kicks off landmark distribution deal with France’s TF1
Leading French broadcaster TF1’s live channels and streamer TF1+ are now available on Netflix’s platform in France following a landmark distribution deal between the two companies.
UK government sets out plans to give prominence for PSB news on social media
The UK government has set out plans to make social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook give greater prominence to news from public service media.
