Paramount Renews Bid for Warner Bros. with Larry Ellison's $40 Billion Strong Support

The war for the future of Warner Brothers is heating up again. Paramount renewed its bid for Warner Bros, and they’ve got some serious muscle behind it this time. On Monday, Paramount Skydance dropped an updated all-cash offer for the old-school movie studio, backed by an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison. He’s promising tens of billions in equity financing to make this happen. It’s a smart play by David Ellison, Larry’s son and the CEO of Paramount Skydance, to muscle in on the deal and beat out Netflix, the streaming powerhouse that’s been circling the prize.

Paramount renews Warner Bros bid with even more firepower now. According to their press release from Monday, “Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.” Larry Ellison’s $40 billion strong support is the big new twist here, the equity financing was already part of the original pitch, but his personal guarantee seals the deal in a way that feels rock-solid.

This refreshed offer comes just a week after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board shot down Paramount’s first attempt. They went with a Netflix deal instead, which got announced on December 5th. That one mixes cash and stock at $27.75 per WBD share, putting the total enterprise value at $82.7 billion.

Things moved fast after that. Three days later, Paramount renewed its bid for Warner Bros with a hostile takeover valued at $108.4 billion, $30 per share. But the WBD board wasn’t buying it. They called it “illusory” and said Paramount had been misleading shareholders about how the financing would actually work. Back then, the board praised their Netflix agreement as “a binding agreement with enforceable commitments, with no need for any equity financing and robust debt commitments.”

Paramount renewed Warner Bros bid once more, tweaking it specifically to tackle those complaints from WBD. “This amended offer has been designed to address WBD’s stated concerns regarding Paramount’s superior offer,” the company explained. It’s worth noting that back in October, CNBC reported WBD had already turned down three separate takeover bids from Paramount before the Netflix news even broke.

David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, made it clear they’re not backing down. “Paramount has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to acquiring WBD,” he said in Monday’s press release. Larry Ellison’s $40 billion strong support underscores that point big time. David went on: “Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice.”

He wrapped it up with a nudge to the board: “We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future.” With Larry Ellison’s $40 billion strong support in the mix, Paramount renewed its bid for Warner Bros looking stronger than ever, this battle’s far from over.

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