Skydance has completed its purchase of Paramount – and now apparently has takeover plans for Warner Bros Discovery. Rich people appear to be playing with their Monopoly money again. David Ellison is the head of Skydance Media, which has just snapped up Paramount Pictures. David is the son of Larry Ellison, who is reported to ... Paramount has money again – and is now eyeing up Warner Bros Discovery
Skydance has completed its purchase of Paramount – and now apparently has takeover plans for Warner Bros Discovery.
Rich people appear to be playing with their Monopoly money again. David Ellison is the head of Skydance Media, which has just snapped up Paramount Pictures. David is the son of Larry Ellison, who is reported to have $393bn down the back of his sofa.
After years of Paramount having to balance the books, the influx of money from Skydance means it’s spreading its wings and past, with the recent acquisition of the Street Fighter movie one recent example. But now, a report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that the Ellisons have a different target: they have their eye on Warner Bros Discovery.
Warner Bros Discovery is in the midst of a de-merger, one we were nattering about yesterday on the site. A de-merger that’ll see it split its cable TV business away from the rest of the company. Reportedly though, the Ellisons aren’t looking to cherry pick. They’re interested in acquiring the whole lot.
No official offer has yet been submitted, but the offer that’s being prepared is described as ‘a majority cash bid’, one that’s being supported by the Ellison family.
We’d like to take this moment to play down press speculation this morning that the Ellisons have also prepared a bid for Film Stories. We cherish our independence, and that’s just tittle tattle.
The Warner Bros Discovery offer sounds like it’s got something to it, though. There’s a lot way to go, and the Warner Bros Discovery board would, obviously, need to accept any such bid before things could progress. This will not be a fast process, and the money involved is likely to be mind boggling.
And! There’s the small matter of US regulatory hurdles to clear. Skydance had a job and half getting the Paramount acquisition past the Donald Trump administration. That in itself involved kissing Donald Trump’s ring, and something of the scale of a Warner Bros Discovery acquisition is, well, let’s just say involve a lot of ring kissing.
Much to ponder, then. Just in case the rest of the internet doesn’t bother, we’ll keep you posted.
