Ellison Infotainment Empire Faces Debt, Regulatory Hurdles in Paramount-WBD Merger
Under the leadership of David Ellison and the financial backing of Larry Ellison, the Ellison infotainment empire reached a high point with the approval from shareholders for Paramount-Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at $111 billion. David hosted a dinner for President Trump at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which included CBS News executives and Paramount's legal officer, Makan Delrahim. This merger would bring CNN and HBO under Ellison's control. Meanwhile, Oracle's stock has plummeted by 47%, and Paramount's debt has been downgraded to junk status, totaling $79 billion. Concerns were raised by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and opposition came from various Hollywood figures. Additionally, Oracle is incurring significant debt for a $300 billion deal with OpenAI, expected to incur losses of $167 billion by 2028.
Key facts
- Paramount-Skydance seeks to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion.
- David Ellison hosted a private dinner honoring President Trump at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Paramount's Makan Delrahim attended the dinner.
- The merger would place CNN and HBO under Ellison control.
- Oracle's stock is down 47% from its high.
- Paramount's debt was downgraded to junk status.
- Combined entity would have $79 billion in debt.
- Oracle's free cash flow is negative $24.7 billion.
- Oracle fired 30,000 employees in March 2026.
- Oracle has a $300 billion compute deal with OpenAI.
- OpenAI is projected to lose $167 billion by 2028.
- Larry Ellison is the world's wealthiest Jewish individual.
- Oracle built an underground data center in Jerusalem for $319 million.
- Skydance donated to Magen David Adom after October 7 attack.
- Paramount condemned a Hollywood boycott of Israel.
Entities
Artists
- Robert De Niro
- Sofia Coppola
- Holly Hunter
Institutions
- Paramount
- Skydance
- Warner Bros. Discovery
- Oracle
- CBS News
- CNN
- HBO
- U.S. Institute of Peace
- Justice Department
- Netflix
- Amazon
- Apple
- OpenAI
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud
- Cerebras
- CoreWeave
- Bloomberg
- The Information
- TD Cowen
- Variety
- PBS
- Nielson
- JustWatch
- Politico
- The New York Times
- The Times of Israel
- The American Prospect
- Magen David Adom
- Free Press
- BET+
- Pluto TV
- Discovery+
- HBO Max
- Paramount+
- Hulu
- Disney+
- Prime Video
- TikTok
- SEC
- CNBC
- 60 Minutes
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States
- Israel
- Jerusalem
- Wisconsin
- Shackelford
- California
- New York