Paramount–Warner Bros. takeover financing hit by Iran war

Months of hostile bidding ended with David Ellison's Skydance emerging victorious in the purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix bowed out. The deal followed Ellison's contract to buy Paramount Pictures last fall and now faces antitrust questions from the Department of Justice, consumer uncertainty about a combined HBO Max and Paramount+ service, and scrutiny over the President buying Warner Bros.

and Netflix stock while "putting his hands on the scales" during the bidding. Paramount Skydance took on $79 billion in debt to complete the $111 billion purchase, and Larry Ellison stepped in to backstop more than $40 billion after concerns about David Ellison's funding reliability.

Much of the offer also relied on Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, a reliance now in question as the US and Israel's war on Iran sends ripples through the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar. About $24 billion of the purchase price was expected from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

United States

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