Revised WBD bid raised Ellison's operative guarantee to $44.6 billion
The amendment increased the cash and personal guarantee behind the attempted media consolidation.
Entities and roles
- David EllisonParamount Skydance chair and chief executive
- Larry EllisonTrump friend and financing guarantor for Paramount Skydance
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.acquisition target
- RedBird Capital Partnersequity-financing participant
- Paramount Skydance Corporationrevised acquisition bidder
- Donald J. Trumpsitting president closely allied with the transaction's principal financiers
Relationships in this file
- Paramount Skydance Corporationrevised all-cash acquisition offerWarner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
- Donald J. Trumpmedia executive closely allied with TrumpDavid Ellison
- Donald J. Trumpclose Trump associate and financing guarantor for his son's media companyLarry Ellison
Claims and evidence
- factdocumented
Paramount's February 2026 filed amendment describes a revised bid backed by Ellison family and RedBird equity plus $54 billion of debt commitments. Operative Item 24 language replaced the prior guarantee amount with $44.6 billion, while a promotional letter embedded in the same filing used $43.3 billion.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Paramount Skydance amended tender-offer statement increasing Ellison guaranteeSchedule TO/A Item 24 and financing table; amended $44.6 billion guarantee language (filing lines 248, 620, and 678–679), distinguished from embedded promotional letter
- Associated Press: Takeover bid of parent company means limbo for CNN and some fellow cable networksPassages identifying David Ellison's Paramount control, Larry Ellison's financing role, and Larry Ellison's relationship with Trump
Measurements
Revised debt commitments$54,000,000,000 - Basis
- Observed
- Population
- Debt commitments for Paramount's revised WBD bid
- Period
- 2026-02-10 to 2026-02-10
- As of
- 2026-02-10
- Method
- Direct observation: aggregate debt commitments from the revised-offer filing.
- Uncertainty
- Committed capacity, not borrowing drawn or aggregate acquisition value.
Revised Ellison guarantee$44,600,000,000 - Basis
- Observed
- Population
- Larry Ellison guarantee of revised equity financing and related obligations
- Period
- 2026-02-10 to 2026-02-10
- As of
- 2026-02-10
- Method
- Direct observation: the operative $44.6 billion personal-guarantee amount from Schedule TO/A Item 24 and the amended financing table.
- Uncertainty
- Contingent backstop, not a payment already made. An embedded promotional letter in the same filing states $43.3 billion; the operative amended tender language supplies the value used here.