Paramount are the new rich kids on the block. The Ellison family wealth has been unlocked by the Skydance deal, and having David and Larry Ellison in your corner is like a Premier League football club getting new Emirati owners. It also looks like they might not stop at just buying Paramount.
The Wall Street Journal says that they are exploring a majority cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Earlier in the week, the father of Skydance owner David Ellison, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, became the wealthiest person in the world for a while as his value exceeded that of Elon Musk, aas his wealth hit £393 billion. It fell back a little shortly after that, and Musk retained the number 1 slot.
Warner Bros. Discovery is undergoing a restructuring to split legacy TV out from movies and streaming. It was also this years most profitable studio after a run of results that set it apart from others, and reversed some recent bad fortune.
Amusingly, the current market capitalisation of Warner Bros. is nearly double that of Paramount, so that Ellison wealth will be brought to bear.
The separation of Warner Bros. Discovery into Warner Bros. and Discovery Global is on track for completion before the end of the financial year.
There would need to be antitrust approval, but no FCC impact if broadcast licences are kept separate by the Warner Bros. restructure. The deal, however, is rumored to be for the whole thing, not just the movies and streaming side of the business.
