Larry Ellison Extends $40.4 Billion Guarantee As Paramount Skydance Looks To Win Over WBD Board In $108 Billion Deal

• The company stated in its amended offer that Ellison has agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction, as it sought to address concerns of the WBD board.
• Paramount also stated that it is publishing records to confirm that the Ellison family trust owns approximately 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock.
• It also said that it will increase its regulatory reverse termination fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion.

Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) on Monday guaranteed that Oracle Corp. (ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison would be involved in the deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD).

In its announcement, Paramount stated that Ellison has agreed to an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damage claims against the company.

Paramount Skydance shares were up more than 7% in Monday’s opening trade, while Warner Bros. Discovery shares were up over 3%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around both companies trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery's board expressed concerns about Paramount’s offer, citing a lack of confidence in Ellison’s involvement.

“We were not confident that one of the richest people in the world would be there at closing. Doing a deal is great – closing a deal is better,” said WBD chairman Samuel Di Piazza in an interview with CNBC.

Paramount’s Amended Offer

The company stated in its amended offer that Ellison has agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction, as it sought to address concerns of the WBD board.

Paramount also stated that it is publishing records to confirm that the Ellison family trust owns approximately 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock.

The company also said it will increase its regulatory reverse termination fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion. However, it noted that the offer is contingent on WBD continuing to hold the entirety of its Global Networks business.

Paramount Questions Netflix’s Offer

Paramount termed its hostile bid as superior to that of Netflix’s, adding that Warner Bros. Discovery’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) omitted any information about the financial analyses that were used by its board in selecting the Netflix offer.

The company also said that Netflix did not disclose how it calculated the adjustment to the proceeds owed to WBD shareholders based on the Streaming & Studios unit’s net debt.

“Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders,” said Paramount CEO David Ellison.

PSKY stock is up 34% year-to-date, while WBD stock is up 171%.

Also See: Nvidia May Resume H200 AI Chip Exports To China In February, Days After Trump Administration Begins Policy Review: Report

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