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.
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