Larry Ellison Steps-Up To Personally Guarantee Bid

Larry and David Ellison

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed $40.4 billion in equity financing for Paramount Skydance's hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), addressing key concerns raised by WBD's board about the deal's funding certainty.

The revised offer, announced Monday morning, maintains the original $30 per share all-cash price, valuing WBD at approximately $108 billion. It includes additional concessions: Ellison has committed not to revoke or adversely transfer assets from the Ellison family trust during the deal's pendency, and Paramount has increased its reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion (matching Netflix's) while extending the tender offer expiration to January 21, 2026.

The move responds directly to WBD's December 17 rejection of the prior bid, where the board criticized the financing as relying on an "opaque revocable trust" without a full personal backstop from the Ellison family, calling the offer "illusory" and inferior to Netflix's $83 billion deal for WBD's studios, HBO, and streaming assets.

Paramount argues its all-cash proposal for the entire company provides superior value and a clearer regulatory path, though WBD has urged shareholders to stick with Netflix. Shares of WBD rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading on the news, while Paramount Skydance shares also gained.

The battle continues as Paramount presses its case directly to WBD shareholders amid a high-stakes fight for control of major Hollywood assets.