The Battle for control of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) a crucial chapter added. Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle and one of the richest men in the world, decided to participate directly in the operation and provided a personal guarantee for it $40.4 billion to support the bid to buy Paramount Skydance, the group led by his son David Ellison.
The document published this Monday is intended to dispel doubts that have arisen in the market about the financial solidity of the proposal and to reaffirm the tycoon’s personal commitment to one of the largest corporations in the entertainment industry.
A response to the criticism from the Warner board
Ellison’s move comes just days after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board formally rejected Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid.worth $108.4 billion. At the time, WBD executives questioned the actual financial support behind the proposal.
As it turned out, one of the main questions was that the operation was based on a revocable trust, which Warner described as unknown and lacking in transparency. The personal guarantee from the founder of Oracle It now appears as a direct response to these objections with the aim of dispelling any doubts about the purchasing group’s financial performance.
Netflix, the rival that complicates matters
The Warner dispute is not just limited to Paramount Skydance. Netflix positioned itself as a strong competitor There is also a positive recommendation from the WBD board, which suggests that its shareholders give priority to the streaming giant’s proposal.
However, the strategies of both applicants are fundamentally different. While Paramount is aiming for a complete integration of the conglomerate, Netflix is relying on a selective takeover. Its offer totals $82.7 billion, including debt, and focuses exclusively on the Warner Bros. film studio and all of HBO, both its channels and the HBO Max platform.
For Netflix’s proposal to be successful, Warner Bros. Discovery should first pursue a spinoff of assets. Under this plan, brands such as CNN and Discovery would become part of a new independent company under the name Discovery Globalseparate from the assets that Netflix would acquire.
This point is crucial because it implies the following: profound restructuring of the group and raises questions about the future of the informational and documentary signals that are now part of the conglomerate.
The political factor and the regulatory risk
The political and regulatory context makes the scenario even more complex. Larry Ellison has a close relationship with President Donald Trumpa link that adds an additional level of analysis to an operation of this magnitude.
At the same time, there is one within the US government Concerns about the impact a Netflix acquisition of Warner would have on competition. Netflix is already the largest streaming platform in the world and if its purchase of HBO Max – currently third in the rankings – is completed, its market dominance could become almost absolute.
That concentration risk could prompt regulators to take a closer look at Paramount’s proposal, a smaller studio that needs scale to compete in an increasingly concentrated market.
Beyond Warner: the real threat to Hollywood
Although the market’s attention is focused on a company worth more than $100 billion, the industry is aware that the biggest threat to major studios lies in more than just this corporate offering.
Content consumption is quickly shifting to platforms outside of Hollywood. In the United States, the top video source on television is no longer Netflix or Warner, but YouTube, which accounts for 28% of streaming, compared to 19% for the leading paid streaming.
The Convergence between social networks and traditional platforms It’s becoming more and more clear. As networks move toward subscriptions and premium content, streaming services are incorporating advertising and short-form formats inspired by TikTok.
In this context, the Ellison family wants to strengthen Paramount not only through film and television, but also through a possible strategic participation in the management of the North American version of TikTok, which would expand its reach in the digital ecosystem.
A decisive step in the content war
Larry Ellison’s personal guarantee represents a slam-dunk in a negotiation that Warner had described as risky. Whoever manages to retain Warner Bros. Discovery’s extensive catalog and intellectual property rights will have a decisive advantage over the new giants of digital entertainment.
The dispute resembles a high-stakes chess game: A tech tycoon uses his personal wealth as a shield for his heir to conquer a media empire, while regulators are careful to ensure that no player concentrates too much power on the global content forum.
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