How Larry Ellison's Acquisition Binge Began in Hawaii

"If the Warner deal goes through, the Ellisons would own, among other things, the US arm of TikTok, DC Comics, the Harry Potter franchise, HBO, and a majority of cable news channels, including Donald Trump's long-standing "fake news" obsession, CNN."

"Yet the Ellison media putsch isn't ultimately rooted in MAGA politics so much as in Larry Ellison's drive for maximum vertically integrated monopoly power. Indeed, for all the ideological destruction David Ellison has wrought at properties like CBS, he's reportedly not a diehard Trumpist, professing "socially liberal" sympathies while having donated $1 million to Joe Biden's abortive 2024 reelection campaign."

"And Paramount Skydance, as the merged company is now known, is planning to add Warner Bros.-Discovery to its media empire after a prolonged bidding battle with Netflix-a move with potentially "apocalyptic" consequences for the struggling film industry, according to David Dayen of the American Prospect."

Larry Ellison, Oracle founder, and his son David are building a massive media empire through aggressive acquisitions. Starting with TikTok's American operations, they orchestrated the $8 billion Skydance-Paramount merger, placing Bari Weiss at CBS News leadership. The Ellisons now pursue a $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.-Discovery, which would add DC Comics, Harry Potter, HBO, and major cable news channels to their holdings. This consolidation represents unprecedented vertical integration in media. While David Ellison has made ideological changes at acquired properties, the family's primary motivation is monopoly control rather than political ideology, as evidenced by David's Biden donation despite MAGA-aligned editorial decisions.

Read at The Nation