Xin Lang Cai Jing·2025-12-22 14:17Core Viewpoint - Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, will provide a personal guarantee of $40.4 billion in equity financing to support Paramount's $108.4 billion all-cash offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, addressing concerns about the stability of the financing [1][5]. Group 1: Acquisition Details - The guarantee aims to alleviate Warner Bros. board's doubts regarding Paramount's funding stability, which previously led to a preference for a cash-and-stock deal with Netflix [1][5]. - Paramount's revised terms maintain the all-cash offer of $30 per share, and following this news, Warner Bros. shares rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading, while Paramount's shares increased by about 3% [1][5]. - Paramount has increased the reverse breakup fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion in case of regulatory approval failure, aligning with Netflix's terms, and extended the offer's validity until January 21, 2026 [6]. Group 2: Competitive Landscape - The bidding war for Hollywood's most valuable assets continues, with both parties poised to gain significant advantages in the streaming wars due to their extensive content libraries [2][6]. - Analysts suggest that Paramount's current precarious position has led to this aggressive move to avoid being marginalized in the competitive landscape [2][6]. - Some investors, including Harris Associates, are open to considering the revised offer if Paramount can present a more attractive proposal and resolve existing issues in the deal terms [6]. Group 3: Regulatory Considerations - Both acquisition proposals will face stringent antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, with bipartisan concerns about media industry consolidation [3][7]. - A successful merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. would create a media giant larger than Disney, potentially controlling a significant portion of television content consumed by Americans [3][7]. - Netflix's potential merger with Warner Bros. would further solidify its dominance in the streaming sector, with a combined total of 428 million subscribers [3][7].