Larry Ellison (Shutterstock photo)
Larry Ellison to Personally Guarantee $40.4 Billion of Paramount’s $108.4 Billion Hostile Takeover of WBD
December 22, 2025
Tech billionaire Larry Ellison, the world’s No. 2 wealthiest person, is personally guaranteeing $40.4 billion of the $108.4 billion (including debt) all-cash hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by his son, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
WBD already has an accepted $82.7 billion offer from Netflix for its studio and streaming assets. Paramount wants to acquire WBD’s TV assets as well.
The senior Ellison’s commitment comes after WBD’s board and special committee overseeing the transaction questioned Ellison’s actual financial involvement in the Paramount bid.
In a regulatory filing, Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of private equity group RedBird Capital Partners, which is playing a multifaceted role in Paramount’s takeover bid, downplayed the significance of Ellison’s then $12 billion stake in the bid.
“It’s funny to hear [Ellison is] only in for $12 billion,” Cardinale said in a media interview. “I mean, you are getting the ‘B’ in billion? Aren’t you?”
The younger Ellison, in a previous statement to WBD shareholders, contends Paramount’s $30-per-share offer is superior to Netflix’s $27.75 share offer (for streaming and studio assets only).
“Our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice,” Ellison wrote. “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.”
Ellison’s claim for greater content production going forward flies in the face of reality.
Paramount Skydance, which has a market capitalization of $14.5 billion, in addition to a $48 million net loss through Sept. 30, has pledged to spend $1.5 billion on content in 2026.
Netflix, by comparison, is spending $17 billion on content this year. The streamer has a market cap of $402 billion with a net profit of $8.5 billion through September. The company has never posted a fiscal loss.
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