Ellison offers $40.4 billion guarantee to beef up Paramount's Warner Bros bid

By Akash Sriram Dec 22 (Reuters) – Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has stepped in to personally guarantee $40.4 billion in Paramount Skydance's latest effort to pry Warner Bros Discovery away from selling its prized Hollywood assets to streaming giant Netflix. The guarantee, disclosed in a filing on Monday, seeks to allay the Warner Bros board's doubts about Paramount's financing and the lack of full Ellison family backing, which had pushed it toward the competing cash-and-stock offer from Netflix. Warner Bros shares rose nearly 4%, while Paramount added about 3%. Warner Bros and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Paramount said the amended terms do not change the $30-per-share all-cash offer even as the fight for Hollywood's sought-after assets heats up, with control of Warner Bros' vast library offering a decisive edge in the streaming wars. "Paramount remains in a precarious position and is making a last-ditch effort to avoid being left out in the shadows," said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight. "The improved offer is a step in the right direction, but it is unlikely to be enough." As part of the revised terms, Ellison also agreed not to revoke the family trust or transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction, the filing showed.  Paramount said it has raised its regulatory reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion from $5 billion to match the competing transaction and extended the expiration date of its tender offer to January 21, 2026. The bid follows Warner Bros asking its shareholders to reject the $108.4 billion offer from Paramount for the whole company, including cable TV assets, on doubts over its financing and the lack of a full guarantee from the Ellison family.  But Warner Bros investors, including the fifth largest shareholder Harris Associates, have said they would be open to revised offers from Paramount if it presents a superior bid and addresses issues with deal terms.  REGULATORY SCRUTINY For either suitor, winning shareholder support is only the first hurdle, as both deals would face intense antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe. Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about consolidation in the media industry, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to weigh in on the transactions. A Paramount-Warner Bros combination would create a studio larger than industry leader Disney and combine two major television operators, a move some Democratic senators say would give one company control over "almost everything Americans watch on TV." A Netflix-Warner Bros tie-up would cement Netflix's dominance in streaming, creating a group with a combined 428 million subscribers. Netflix has said it would honor Warner Bros' theatrical commitments and argued the deal would benefit consumers by lowering costs through bundled offerings. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said he is confident the deal would win regulatory approval, arguing it would avoid job cuts in an industry already struggling with uneven box-office returns. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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