Larry Ellison’s Family Connection Looms Over Paramount Skydance Takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount Skydance has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a move that follows Netflix’s abrupt exit from the bidding war and sets up a crowded regulatory and shareholder calendar. The deal matters now because it folds major studio and cable assets under a buyer led by David Ellison, whose father, larry ellison, is identified in the transaction context as a prominent ally of the president.
Paramount Skydance agreement seals $31-a-share purchase
Paramount Skydance’s offer of $31 a share places a valuation on Warner Bros. Discovery of roughly $77 billion for equity. That purchase price covers the Warner Bros. film studio, the HBO Max streaming platform and a portfolio of cable channels that includes. When WBD’s existing debt is included, the takeover bid rises to a total of more than $110 billion.
Netflix withdrawal shifts the competitive landscape
The agreement was finalized a day after Netflix unexpectedly pulled out of the bidding for WBD’s studio and streaming assets. Netflix had been in a prior $72 billion arrangement with WBD that remained part of the backdrop throughout the sale process; David Ellison pressed forward with his bid even after that earlier Netflix deal had been announced. Paramount Skydance increased its bid from $30 to $31 a share on Thursday, and Netflix declined to match the higher offer.
Deal economics: fees, deadlines and termination clauses
The transaction carries a number of financial safeguards and penalties. Paramount Skydance agreed to pay Netflix a $2. 8 billion termination fee. If regulators block the deal, Paramount Skydance faces a $7 billion reverse termination fee. The purchase agreement also includes a ticking fee for WBD shareholders: if the merger has not closed by September 30, shareholders will receive $0. 25 a share for each quarter of delay.
David Ellison, Larry Ellison and corporate lineage
Paramount Skydance is led by David Ellison, identified as the son of Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison and the head of Skydance Media, which acquired Paramount Global last year in an $8 billion deal. David Ellison, 43, issued a statement framing the merger as a way to combine “world-class studios” and “complementary streaming platforms, ” saying the move will create added value for audiences, partners and shareholders.
What makes this notable is the intersection of deep personal ties and massive corporate consolidation: larry ellison’s relationship to the buyer is an explicit element in how the transaction is being described, and it colors the political and regulatory attention the deal will receive.
Governance, shareholder timing and political scrutiny
The boards of directors of both Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance unanimously approved the transaction. The merger remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances and approval by WBD shareholders, with a vote expected in the early spring of 2026. Democrats in Congress have pledged to scrutinize the proposal, adding a political review layer to the regulatory process.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s president and chief executive, David Zaslav, said he was very pleased with the outcome for shareholders and the industry, and described the company’s guiding principle as securing a transaction that maximizes the value of its iconic assets while delivering certainty for investors. He added that WBD looks forward to working with Paramount to complete the transaction.
Assets, integration questions and cultural franchises
If approved, the merger would unite two historic film studios and a sprawling library of intellectual property. The combined holdings would span Paramount properties such as The Godfather and SpongeBob Squarepants alongside Warner Bros. Discovery titles like Casablanca and Batman. Paramount Skydance has not yet provided details on how it plans to combine these properties with WBD’s catalog; it remains unclear in the provided context how integration would be structured or which assets might be prioritized.
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters described the company’s decision not to match the final offer as a business judgment, saying the transaction was always a “nice to have” at the right price, not a “must have” at any price. WBD had rejected several earlier offers from Paramount Skydance before the final $31-a-share bid that closed the auction.
The combination now moves into a phase defined by regulatory review, a shareholder vote and potential congressional oversight, with significant financial contingencies—termination fees, ticking fees and the reverse break fee—shaping the incentives for a swift close.
