Paramount updates offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery: now with Larry Ellison's personal guarantee

Paramount Skydance has submitted an updated bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for $108 billion. It includes an "irrevocable personal guarantee" of $40.4 billion from Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle and father of Skydance CEO David Ellison.

What is known

On December 17, WBD's board of directors recommended shareholders reject Paramount's offer, giving preference to another $82.7 billion deal with Netflix announced on December 5. WBD stated that Paramount's offer does not meet the "superior" criteria under the terms of the agreement with Netflix.

Paramount's previous bid was supported by investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the Ellisons reported that they would cover the full amount if needed. However, WBD indicated that a personal financial guarantee was specifically required.

The updated offer also includes Larry Ellison's commitment not to withdraw or transfer assets of the family trust until the deal is finalized. Additionally, Paramount agreed to disclose the trust's assets, proposed more flexible transaction terms, and increased the breakup fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion – the same amount stipulated in the Netflix deal.

Paramount emphasized that its offer of $30 per share was submitted on December 4 and remains valid. The company noted that it expects a timely response from the WBD board of directors.

Source: Reuters