Larry Ellison has stepped in to strengthen Paramount Skydance’s hostile push for Warner Bros. Discovery, providing an “irrevocable personal guarantee” covering $40.4 billion (€34.4 billion) of equity financing for the bid.
The move by the Oracle co-founder is designed to address one of the key objections raised by WBD’s board, which last week urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance’s offer and argued the Ellison family had still not provided an equity backstop.
In an amended offer announcement on 22 December, Paramount said Larry Ellison would also stand behind any damages claims tied to the transaction and committed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or transfer its assets while the deal remains pending.
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has held its all-cash offer at $30 (€25.5) a share, but has increased the regulatory reverse break fee to $5.8 billion (€4.9 billion) and extended the tender offer to 21 January 2026.
The revised package intensifies the contest with Netflix, which has an agreed transaction with WBD for its studio and streaming assets. WBD has continued to recommend shareholders back the Netflix deal and reject Paramount Skydance’s tender offer.
