Billionaire Larry Ellison comes to his son's rescue, agreeing to personally guarantee over $40 billion to finance Paramount's bid for Warner Bros. | Fortune

"Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is raising the stakes in the battle for Hollywood's future, personally intervening to salvage his son David Ellison's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. On Monday, David's company, Paramount Skydance, announced the elder Ellison had provided an "irrevocable personal guarantee" of $40.4 billion to finance the deal, directly countering claims that the company's funding was unreliable."

"It's the latest turn in the high-profile tug-of-war for Warner Bros., one of the entertainment industry's crown jewels. David Ellison, who became CEO of the newly merged Paramount Skydance in August, has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. with a $108 billion all-cash offer, which comes out to about $30 per share. However, WB's board rejected that proposal in favor of a rival agreement to sell its studio and streaming assets to Netflix for roughly $83 billion."

""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," the company said in a statement, adding that the tech tycoon has agreed "not to revoke the Ellison family trust (which has been operating for nearly 40 years as a counterparty to numerous transactions) or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction.""

Larry Ellison provided an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion to finance Paramount Skydance's hostile $108 billion all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, countering concerns about the deal's funding. Paramount Skydance is led by David Ellison, who became CEO after the merger in August. WBD's board favored a separate agreement to sell studio and streaming assets to Netflix for roughly $83 billion and previously labeled Paramount's financing as "illusory," citing ties to a revocable family trust. The guarantee includes a commitment not to revoke the Ellison family trust or transfer its assets during the transaction, effectively removing the board's chief funding objection.

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