Larry Ellison to personally back Paramount bid for Warner

"Ellison, one of the richest people in the world, agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion in equity financing for Paramount's proposed $108.4 billion offer for Warner Bros., according to a statement Monday. Ellison, whose son David Ellison is chief executive officer of Paramount, agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets while the transaction is pending."

"Paramount's $30-a-share offer remains unchanged. Paramount confirmed that the Ellison family trust owns about 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock and that all material liabilities are publicly disclosed. The company also offered to increase its regulatory reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion fee from $5 billion. In an effort to address Warner Bros.'s amorphous need for flexibility' in interim operations, Paramount's revised proposed merger agreement offers further improved flexibility to Warner Bros. on debt refinancing transactions, representations and interim operating covenants,"

"Paramount has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. for months and the battle for one of Hollywood's most storied studios has taken an increasingly acrimonious turn. David Ellison was taken by surprise earlier this month when the Warner Bros. board agreed to a deal with Netflix for $82.7 billion for the streaming and studio assets. Paramount subsequently launched a hostile takeover offer in a direct appeal to shareholders."

Paramount Skydance amended its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding an irrevocable $40.4 billion personal equity guarantee from Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison for a $108.4 billion offer. Ellison agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or transfer its assets while the transaction is pending. Paramount's $30-a-share offer remains unchanged; the Ellison family trust holds about 1.16 billion Oracle shares with publicly disclosed liabilities. Paramount raised its regulatory reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion and offered greater interim operational flexibility to Warner Bros. on debt refinancing, representations and covenants. Warner Bros. earlier agreed to Netflix's $82.7 billion deal, prompting Paramount's hostile takeover appeal while Warner Bros.'s board urged shareholders to reject Paramount's offer as inferior and noted financing uncertainty.

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