2025-12-22 16:46
publication
2025-12-22 16:46
Billionaire Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison, head of Paramount Skydance, is seeking to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) said it has agreed to personally guarantee $40.4 billion in equity financing for the transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the US, decided to guarantee equity financing for the offer and release documents regarding the family trust that would back it, as WBD's board of directors on Wednesday upheld its recommendation to shareholders to accept Netflix's takeover bid.
The Council used the argument that Paramount Skydance's offer was insufficient and riskier, and that the financial guarantees were inadequate.
In addition, WBD found that Paramount Skydance “consistently deceived” the shareholders to whom it directly addressed its purchase offer by creating the impression that the transaction would be fully guaranteed by the Ellison estate.
As “WSJ” comments, the modified Paramount Skydance offer, including Ellison's guarantees, is intended to dispel the doubts of the WBD Board of Directors and shareholders.
Paramount Skydance Group also stated that its offer is more attractive than Netflix's, provides more favorable financial conditions and better prospects for the transaction to be approved by the market regulator.
In early December, WBD agreed to sell most of its company, including film studios and streaming platforms, to Netflix in a cash-and-stock deal worth $83 billion. Shortly thereafter, Paramount Skydance, whose offers had already been rejected six times by WBD's management, submitted its offer directly to shareholders, amounting to USD 108 billion for the entire WBD, including television channels, among others. CNN and Polish TVN. If the transaction with Netflix is finalized, the television channels will go to a separate company, Discovery Global.
US President Donald Trump announced at the beginning of the race to take over WBD that he would engage in this process. “WSJ” reminds that the Ellison family is friends with Trump, and the president has repeatedly made it clear that he wants CNN, which is often the target of his attacks, to change ownership.
Meanwhile, Netflix, which has a large advantage over its competitors in the streaming services market, assures that its takeover of WBD will receive approval from industry regulators, even though such a transaction would significantly increase its share in this market.
However, the film industry is not thrilled with this prospect and is afraid of layoffs, lower wages, cinema closures, limited independent filmography and a less diverse film offer for audiences; Hollywood's Writers Guild of America (WGA) has even stated that “the absorption of one of its largest competitors by the world's largest streaming company is what antitrust laws are designed to prevent.” (PAP)
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