Paramount Escalates Hostile Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery With $40 Billion Guarantee

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Paramount has intensified its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by adding a major financial backstop to the proposed deal. The company announced that Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, will personally guarantee the $40 billion needed to finance the transaction.

As part of the revised offer, the Ellison family is also allowing Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to review the finances of their family trust, a move aimed at addressing concerns about the deal’s funding. Paramount’s bid has faced repeated resistance from the Warner Bros. Discovery board of directors, which has rejected the proposal multiple times.

Instead, the board has opted to pursue a competing offer from Netflix, saying it provides greater value to shareholders. Warner Bros. Discovery has also accused Paramount of misrepresenting key aspects of its proposal to shareholders, raising questions about the legitimacy and reliability of the financing behind the deal.

In another attempt to strengthen its position, Paramount increased its breakup fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion. That figure now matches the breakup fee Netflix has pledged to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders if its deal fails to close.

The escalating battle underscores the high stakes in the rapidly consolidating media and streaming industry, as major players compete for scale, content libraries, and long-term financial stability.

Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

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