Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. draws an unusual mix of billionaires, banks and Gulf wealth

Paramount Skydance’s hostile move on Warner Bros. Discovery has pulled together an uncommon coalition of financiers — from US banking giants to Gulf sovereign funds and the US president’s son-in-law - in a bid to upend Netflix’s competing offer.

Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo Global Management have committed to a $54 billion bridge loan, while RedBird Capital Partners and Larry Ellison are backstopping roughly $40.7 billion in equity. Part of that equity would come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, Bloomberg reported. All have agreed to forgo governance rights — a concession intended to ease regulatory scrutiny.

The high-profile group is notable not only for its scale but also for its ties to President Donald Trump. Days before Paramount went public with its offer, Trump questioned potential antitrust concerns around Netflix’s planned $72 billion deal for Warner Bros. He later said he had no personal stake in either company.

Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison told Warner Bros.’ board that the bid offers “funds certain from one of the wealthiest families in the world,” pointing to financial commitments anchored by his father Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder. Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest person this year, with a fortune driven by his Oracle holdings, before shares later retreated, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.

The offer caps months of reworked proposals — six in 12 weeks — as Paramount sought to reassure Warner Bros. about the stability of its financing partners. An earlier proposal included China’s Tencent, but Warner Bros. raised concerns about non-US equity sources, prompting Paramount to streamline the syndicate, Bloomberg reported.

The bid also continues a pattern of collaboration between Kushner’s Affinity Partners and the Saudi wealth fund. The pair recently joined a consortium to buy video game maker Electronic Arts in a $55 billion deal, according to Bloomberg.

Paramount’s offer of $30 a share in cash stands against Netflix’s $27.75 cash-and-stock deal, which is supported by $59 billion in unsecured financing arranged by Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas and HSBC. Unlike Netflix — which is pursuing only the studios and streaming division — Paramount is seeking all of Warner Bros., which is already planning to split into two listed companies by mid-2026.