Larry Ellison has stepped in with a personal guarantee of $40.4 billion to strengthen Paramount Skydance’s latest bid for Warner Bros Discovery, as it attempts to derail a rival sale of the studio’s prized assets to streaming giant Netflix.
The guarantee, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday, is designed to ease concerns among the Warner Bros board regarding Paramount’s financing structure and the absence of full backing from the Ellison family. Those concerns had previously tilted support toward Netflix’s competing cash-and-stock proposal.
Following the announcement, Warner Bros shares rose roughly 3%, while Paramount stock gained more than 7%. Warner Bros and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Paramount said the revised terms do not alter its $30-per-share all-cash offer, even as competition intensifies for control of Warner Bros’ extensive film and television library—an asset widely seen as a critical advantage in the ongoing streaming wars.
Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global, said it was unclear whether the revised bid would sway undecided shareholders. He noted that few investors opposing the deal were likely doing so solely because of the lack of a personal funding guarantee from Ellison.
As part of the updated proposal, Ellison also agreed not to revoke the family trust or transfer its assets while the transaction remains under review, according to the filing.
Paramount further disclosed that it raised its regulatory reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion, up from $5 billion, to match the competing deal. The company also extended the expiration date of its tender offer to January 21, 2026.
The move follows Warner Bros urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s earlier $108.4 billion offer for the entire company, including its cable television assets, citing doubts over financing certainty and incomplete guarantees from the Ellison family.
However, several Warner Bros investors—including fifth-largest shareholder Harris Associates—have indicated openness to a revised Paramount bid, provided it offers improved terms and addresses previous concerns.
Under the Netflix agreement, Warner Bros would be required to pay a $2.8 billion breakup fee if it abandons the deal in favor of another offer.
Regulatory scrutiny intensifies
Securing shareholder approval would be only the first hurdle for either bidder, as both transactions are expected to face stringent antitrust reviews in the United States and Europe.
Lawmakers from both political parties have raised alarms about increasing consolidation in the media sector, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said he intends to weigh in on the proposed deals.
A merger between Paramount and Warner Bros would create a studio larger than industry leader Disney and combine two major television operators. Some Democratic senators argue such a move would give a single company outsized influence over what Americans watch on television.
A Netflix-Warner Bros combination, meanwhile, would further entrench Netflix’s dominance in streaming, forming a group with a combined 428 million subscribers. Netflix has said it would honor Warner Bros’ theatrical commitments and contends the deal would benefit consumers through bundled offerings and lower costs.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has expressed confidence that regulators would approve the transaction, arguing it would preserve jobs in an industry already under pressure from uneven box-office performance.
