Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is raising the stakes in the battle for Hollywood’s future, personally intervening to salvage his son David Ellison’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. On Monday, David’s company, Paramount Skydance, announced the elder Ellison had provided an “irrevocable personal guarantee” of $40.4 billion to finance the deal, directly countering claims that the company’s funding was unreliable.​ It’s the latest turn in the high-profile tug-of-war for Warner Bros. Discovery ...

Paramount Skydance said Monday that billionaire Larry Ellison is personally backing its hostile offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of more than $40 billion, escalating its bidding war with Netflix. Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and one of the richest people in the world, is the father of Paramount chief David Ellison. Paramount has been seeking to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, taking a hostile offer directly to Warner Bros. shareholders after the board rejected Paramount's offe ...

Paramount Sky dance. It sweetened its offer for Warner Brothers. Today, Larry Ellison agreeing to personally guarantee $48 billion in equity financing for the proposed $108 billion takeover offer for Warner Brothers.So let's bring in Bloomberg Attack co-host Caroline Hyde now for more on this story. So, Caroline, this is getting really interesting. What I'm curious about is how long can this continue on given that shareholders aren't voting until the middle of next year.I mean, this is such a Hollywood dram ...

The saga of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ( WBD ) and Netflix, Inc. ( NFLX ) continues, with, of course, the continuing maneuvers of Paramount Skydance Corporation ( PSKY ) thrown in for good measure.Max Greve is a graduate of Northwestern University with a quadruple major in History, Economics, Political Science, and International Studies. Max is a full-time writer and in addition to stock market trends also writes articles on government, current events, macroeconomic trends, and last but not least, the ong ...

By Akash Sriram Dec 22 (Reuters) - Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has stepped in to personally guarantee $40.4 billion in Paramount Skydance's latest effort to pry Warner Bros Discovery away from selling its prized Hollywood assets to streaming giant Netflix. The ​guarantee, disclosed in a filing on Monday, seeks to allay the Warner Bros board's doubts about Paramount's financing and ‌the lack of full Ellison family backing, which had pushed it toward the competing cash-and-stock offer from Netflix. W ...

Core Viewpoint - Netflix has refinanced part of a $59 billion bridge loan to support its potential acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery [1] Group 1 - The refinancing of the bridge loan indicates Netflix's ongoing strategy to secure financing for significant acquisitions [1] - The total amount of the bridge loan is $59 billion, highlighting the scale of Netflix's financial commitments in pursuing growth through acquisitions [1]

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Walt Disney Co.’s Avatar: Fire and Ash was the highest-grossing film at the box office this weekend with $88 million worth of movie tickets sold in the US and Canada. https://t.co/E1kx7BLX0q ...

Group 1: Media and Entertainment - Warner Bros. has formally rejected Paramount's hostile bid to acquire the company, opting instead to focus on a partnership with Netflix, which boasts over 300 million subscribers [1] - The bidding war involving Warner Bros., Netflix, and ParamountSkydance has likely concluded with this decision [1] Group 2: Mergers and Acquisitions - IBM has acquired Confluent for $11 billion, indicating a significant move in the tech sector [2] - Medline's recent IPO raised a record $6.26 billion, with its stock surging over 40% on the first day of trading on Nasdaq [2] Group 3: Commodities Market - Oil prices reached a record low of $55 per barrel but recovered slightly, ending the week with a 1.4% decline [4] - Natural gas prices increased by 2.9% on Friday, although they remain 2.4% lower for the week [5] - Silver prices hit a new high of $67.385 per ounce, marking an 8.6% increase for the week and a 130% gain year-to-date [5] Group 4: Economic Indicators - The November non-farm payroll data showed no significant changes from September, while the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending in November was reported at 2.7%, down from 3% in September [6] - The S&P 500 closed 0.06% higher this week, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%, and the Dow Jones fell by 0.7% [7]

Core Viewpoint - Netflix is pursuing an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's film and television studios, which could transform its business model from a streaming service to a comprehensive media company [1][2]. Group 1: Strategic Importance of Warner Bros. - The acquisition of Warner Bros. is seen as a strategic move for Netflix, as it would provide access to valuable intellectual property (IP) including franchises like DC Comics and Harry Potter, enhancing Netflix's content library [7][9]. - Warner Bros. offers not just a deeper content library but also opportunities in theme parks, merchandise, and gaming, which could diversify Netflix's revenue streams [9][12]. Group 2: Financial Implications - Integrating Warner Bros. could allow Netflix to acquire more customers without significant increases in sales and marketing expenses, potentially leading to higher gross margins [11]. - The acquisition could enable Netflix to create new pricing tiers and subscription bundles, allowing for potential subscription cost increases with minimal risk of customer churn [12]. Group 3: Market Position and Valuation - Netflix is currently trading at a premium compared to its peers in the streaming and entertainment sectors, reflecting its strong market position and recurring revenue model [14][17]. - The valuation gap between Netflix and traditional media companies suggests that the merger with Warner Bros. could be more beneficial for Netflix than a partnership with Paramount Skydance [18][19].