Politics
Larry Ellison pledges $40-billion personal guarantee for Paramount’s Warner Bros. bid
Billionaire Larry Ellison has stepped up, agreeing to personally guarantee part of Paramount’s bid for rival Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ellison’s personal guarantee of $40.4 billion in equity, disclosed Monday, ups the ante in the acrimonious auction for Warner Bros. movie and TV studios, HBO, CNN and Food Network.
Ellison, whose son David Ellison is Paramount’s chief executive, agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets while the Warner Bros. transaction is pending. Paramount’s $30-a-share offer remains unchanged.
Warner‘s board earlier this month awarded the prize to Netflix. The board rejected Paramount’s $108.4-billion deal, largely over concerns about the perceived shakiness of Paramount’s financing.
Paramount then launched a hostile takeover, appealing directly to Warner shareholders, offering them $30 a share. Paramount on Monday extended the deadline to Jan. 21 for Warner investors to tender their shares.
“We amended this Offer to address Warner Bros. stated concerns regarding the Prior Proposal and the December 8 Offer,” Paramount said in a Monday Securities & Exchange Commission filing. “Mr. Larry Ellison is providing a personal guarantee of the Ellison Trust’s $40.4 billion funding obligation.”
Warner Bros. Discovery did not provide an immediate comment.
Warner stock jumped 3.5% on the news to $28.75. Paramount shares climbed 4.2% to $13.61 and Netflix fell 1.2% to $93.23.
The Ellison family acquired the controlling stake in Paramount in August. The family launched their pursuit of Warner Bros. in September but Warner’s board unanimously rejected six Paramount proposals over the last three months.
Paramount started with a $19 a share bid for the entire company. Netflix has offered $27.75 a share and only wants the Burbank studios, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. The Netflix bid is a mix of cash and stock. It envisions Warner Bros. spinning off its linear cable channels, including CNN, into a new publicly traded company, Discovery Global, by the middle of next year.
Paramount upped its all-cash offer to $30 a share Dec. 4, in the waning hours of the auction.
That night, Warner Bros. Discovery’s board voted unanimously to accept Netflix’s $72-billion offer (the total value of the deal is $82.7 billion). The company, in regulatory filings, has cited Netflix’s stronger financial position.
Since then, Paramount executives launched their hostile bid and held meetings with Warner investors in New York, where they echoed the proposal they’d submitted in the closing hours of the auction.
On Monday, Paramount also agreed to increase the termination fee to $5.8 billion from $5 billion, matching the one that Netflix offered. Paramount would have to pay Warner that amount should the deal collapse.
Three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds representing royal families in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi have agreed to provide $24 billion of the $40.4-billion equity component that Ellison is backing.
The Ellison family has agreed to cover $11.8-billion of that. Initially, Paramount’s bid included the private equity firm of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, but Kushner withdrew his firm last week. Previously, Paramount dropped the Chinese firm Tencent from its financing consortium over regulatory concerns.
“In an effort to address Warner Bros.’s amorphous need for ‘flexibility’ in interim operations, Paramount’s revised proposed merger agreement offers further improved flexibility to Warner Bros. on debt refinancing transactions, representations and interim operating covenants,” Paramount said in its statement.
Paramount confirmed that the Ellison family trust owns about 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock and that all material liabilities are publicly disclosed.
“The Ellison Trust has financial resources well in excess of what would be required to meet its commitments to be entered into in connection with the Offer and the second-step merger [with Paramount], including, among many other assets and financial resources available to it,” Paramount said.
Paramount has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. for months, yearning for the scale the Warner assets would bring the company that, before the Ellison takeover, had suffered from years of under-investment.
David Ellison was startled earlier this month when the Warner Bros. board swiftly agreed to a deal with Netflix for $82.7 billion, including some of Warner’s debt, for the streaming and studio assets. He alleged during a CNBC appearance that the Warner Bros. board had failed to seriously consider the merits of his family’s bid.
Paramount subsequently launched its hostile takeover offer in a direct appeal to shareholders. The Warner Bros. board urged shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer, which includes $54 billion in debt commitments, deeming it “inferior” and “inadequate.” The board singled out what it viewed as uncertain financing and the risk implicit in a revocable trust that could cause Paramount to terminate the deal at any time.
Warner added that its shareholders also would have equity in the new Discovery Global, which Warner believes could fetch about $3 a share. Paramount has said its deal is more straightforward. The Ellisons, who enjoy friendly relations with Trump, have told shareholders their deal would face a smoother regulatory review.
Larry Ellison and Trump are on friendly terms, and Ellison’s software company Oracle is part of a consortium taking over social media app TikTok. That deal is expected to close next month.
Trump’s support was also key to the Ellison family’s takeover of Paramount. Before that deal was approved, Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over “60 Minutes” edits that most legal experts called frivolous.
Trump has said that he wants CNN to be included in the Warner Bros. sale. Trump has long chafed over CNN’s coverage.
In the past, the president indicated that he favored Paramount’s pursuit of Warner Bros. — but he has been more circumspect in recent weeks, making complimentary comments about Netflix Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos.
Executives from both Paramount and Netflix have argued that they would be the best owners and use the Warner Bros. library and movie and TV production capabilities to boost their streaming operations.
Netflix also announced Monday that it has refinanced part of a $59-billion bridge loan with cheaper and longer-term debt.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.
Politics
‘ShamWow Guy’ reveals what is motivating him to run for Congress: ‘This woke mess won’t clean itself’
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EXCLUSIVE: Vince Offer Shlomi, more commonly known to the masses as the “ShamWow Guy,” is running for Congress in Texas as an anti-establishment Republican vowing to “clean the swamp.”
If elected, Shlomi, who is beloved for his high-energy late-night ShamWow and “Slap Chop” commercials, has said he will “destroy wokeism,” quipping on his campaign website, “This woke mess won’t clean itself.”
In a recent ad, Shlomi, 61, knocked 84-year-old incumbent Republican Rep. John Carter’s cognitive ability as “worse than Biden,” saying, “vote for me, a guy who’s not half dead.”
Despite President Donald Trump endorsing Carter for re-election, Shlomi believes he would be a better ally in Congress for the president. He suggested Carter is no longer up for the job, likening his continued presence in the House of Representatives to a form of elder abuse.
“He’s not a fighter,” said Shlomi, adding, “It’s not that he’s old, but his capacity is lacking and Trump doesn’t know that.”
TEXAS DEMOCRAT BLASTED FOR TELLING LATINO, BLACK, ASIAN PEOPLE TO UNITE AGAINST ‘OPPRESSOR,’ ‘TAKE OVER’ US
Left: Rep. John Carter, R-Texas. Right: Media personality and Republican congressional candidate Vince Shlomi “ShamWow.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Vince Shlomi Campaign)
After years in the media world, Shlomi said he decided to break into politics after “seeing the decline of the civilization.”
“I’m seeing people not standing up to things. Not thinking about God … kind of afraid, they’re kind of intimidated, walking on eggshells,” he explained. “I feel that we need to fight a little bit stronger on just the commonsense American value ideas.”
“I want to bring wholesomeness back to America,” he said.
He also framed his candidacy as standing up to the GOP establishment, something he believes has already put a target on his back.
He believes that “someone” in the GOP deleted his nickname from the ballot to reduce his name recognition. Candidates using nicknames on the ballot is very common but nicknames tied to brand names or products are rarer.
CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND VOWS TO PURGE ‘RINOS’ IN BATTLE TO REPLACE RETIRING VERN BUCHANAN IN OPEN FLORIDA SEAT
Vince Offer Shlomi is best known for his high-energy television commercials marketing the “ShamWow.” (Vince Shlomi Campaign)
“I think they’re trying to hoodwink the voters from not knowing who I am,” said Shlomi, adding, “Honestly, it’s a swampy move, and that’s one of the things I’ll be working on when I get to Congress.”
Though describing his election effort as an “uphill battle,” Shlomi said he believes it is part of a “higher purpose.”
“The bottom line is I want to help clean the swamp,” he said. “I’ve just seen the world, I’m looking at athletes, and they’re not standing up for kids, or standing up for girls, and they just go with whatever pays the most money. So, I just thought, you know what? I’m not a brave person, but I just can’t let this happen.”
TURNING POINT ISSUES MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE AS TRUMP HINTS AT WEIGHING IN
Television commercial star Vince Shlomi, also known as “ShamWow,” is running for U.S. Congress in Texas. (Jason Reed/REUTERS; Vince Shlomi Campaign)
Regarding Shlomi’s ballot name, Abraham George, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, told Fox News Digital that “the National Republican Congressional Committee challenged Mr. Shlomi’s ballot nickname – ‘ShamWow’” and “after considering the law, including Texas Election Code section 52.031, the Republican Party of Texas determined that this challenge was well taken and Mr. Shlomi’s ballot nickname was eliminated. Nicknames that indicate an economic affiliation are impermissible by law.”
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Carter’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Politics
Warner Bros. Discovery reopens bidding, gives Paramount seven days to make its case
Warner Bros. Discovery is cracking open the door to allow spurned bidder, Paramount Skydance, to make its case — but Warner’s board still maintains its preference for Netflix’s competing proposal.
Warner’s move to reopen talks comes after weeks of pressure from Paramount, which submitted an enhanced offer to buy Warner last week. Paramount’s willingness to increase its offer late in the auction attracted the attention of some Warner investors.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery responded with a letter to Paramount Chairman David Ellison and others on Paramount’s board, giving the group seven days to “clarify your proposal.”
“We seek your best and final proposal,” Warner board members wrote. Warner set a Feb. 23 deadline for Paramount to comply.
The closely watched sale of the century-old Warner Bros., known for “Batman,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Casablanca,” and HBO, the home of “Game of Thrones” and “Succession,” is expected to reshape Hollywood.
The flurry of activity comes as Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix are seeking to enter the home stretch of the auction. Warner separately issued its proxy and set a special March 20 meeting of its shareholders to decide the company’s fate.
Warner Bros. Discovery is recommending that its stockholders approve the $82.7-billion Netflix deal.
“We continue to believe the Netflix merger is in the best interests of WBD shareholders due to the tremendous value it provides, our clear path to achieve regulatory approval and the transaction’s protections for shareholders against downside risk,” Warner Chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., said in a Tuesday statement.
Still, the maneuver essentially reopens the talks.
Warner Bros. is creating an opportunity for Paramount to sway Warner board members, which could perhaps prompt Netflix to raise its $27.75 a share offer for Warner’s Burbank-based studios, vast library of programming, HBO and streaming service HBO Max.
Netflix is not interested in buying Warner Bros. Discovery’s basic cable channels, including CNN, TBS, HGTV and Animal Planet, which are set to be spun off to a stand-alone company later this year.
In contrast, Paramount wants to buy the entire company and has offered more than $30 a share.
Last week, Paramount sweetened its bid for Warner, adding a $2.8-billion “break fee” that Warner would have to pay Netflix if the company pulled the plug on that deal. Paramount also said it would pay Warner investors a “ticking fee” of 25 cents a share for every quarter after Jan. 1 that the deal does not close.
“While we have tried to be as constructive as possible in formulating these solutions, several of these items would benefit from collaborative discussion to finalize,” Paramount said last week as it angled for a chance to make its case. “We will work with you to refine these solutions to ensure they address any and all of your concerns.”
Netflix agreed to give Warner Bros. Discovery a temporary waiver from its merger agreement to allow Warner Bros. Discovery to reengage with Paramount, which lost the bidding war on Dec. 4.
“We granted WBD a narrow seven-day waiver of certain obligations under our merger agreement to allow them to engage with PSKY to fully and finally resolve this matter,” Netflix said Tuesday in a statement. “This does not change the fact that we have the only signed, board-recommended
agreement with WBD, and ours is the only certain path to delivering value to WBD’s stockholders.”
Netflix has matching rights for any improved Paramount offer. The company renewed its confidence in its deal and its prospect to win regulatory approval.
“PSKY has repeatedly mischaracterized the regulatory review process by suggesting its proposal will sail through, misleading WBD stockholders about the real risk of their regulatory challenges around the world,” Netflix said in its statement. “WBD stockholders should not be misled into thinking that PSKY has an easier or faster path to regulatory approval – it does not.”
Warner Bros. Discovery acknowledged that Paramount’s recent modification “addresses some of the concerns that WBD had identified several months ago,” according to the letter to Paramount.
But Warner Bros. Discovery added Paramount’s offer “still contains many of the unfavorable terms and conditions that were in the draft agreements … and twice unanimously rejected by our Board,” Warner Bros. Discovery said.
Warner’s board told Paramount it will “welcome the opportunity to engage” during the seven-day negotiation period.
Paramount has been pursuing the prized assets since last September.
“Every step of the way, we have provided PSKY with clear direction on the deficiencies in their offers and opportunities to address them,” Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav said in a statement. “We are engaging with PSKY now to determine whether they can deliver an actionable, binding proposal that provides superior value and certainty for WBD shareholders.”
Politics
Tom Emmer blasts Democrats’ double standard on SAVE Act: ‘They require photo IDs’ at their own DNC
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EXCLUSIVE: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is accusing Democrats of being hypocritical in their opposition to Republicans’ latest election integrity bill.
The No. 3 House Republican ripped the rival party after nearly all of them voted against the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act last week, specifically over its provision mandating federally accepted photo identification at the polls. It’s also sometimes referred to as the “SAVE Act.”
“These guys are doing the same old broken record about voter suppression,” Emmer told Fox News Digital. “Why aren’t they screaming about photo IDs at the airport? Why aren’t they screaming about photo IDs when you check out a book at the library?”
NOEM BACKS SAVE AMERICA ACT, SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT’ OPPOSITION TO VOTER IDS AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer accused Democrats of hypocrisy for requiring photo IDs for the DNC but not supporting the SAVE America Act. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Emmer pointed out that a photo ID was required for attendees to watch former Vice President Kamala Harris accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House in Chicago last year.
“By the way, if they think it’s voter suppression, why do they require photo IDs at the Democrat National Convention to get in?” Emmer said.
“I mean, I think Americans are so much smarter than these people can understand, can let themselves understand,” he said.
The SAVE America Act passed the House on Wednesday with support from all Republicans — an increasingly rare sight in the chamber — and just one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
A previous iteration of the bill, just called the SAVE Act, passed the House in April of last year with support from four House Democrats.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, talks with reporters in the Capitol after a meeting of House Democrats in Washington, June 27, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
Whereas the SAVE Act would have created a new federal proof-of-citizenship mandate in the voter registration process and imposed requirements for states to keep their rolls clear of ineligible voters, the updated bill would also require photo ID to vote in any federal election.
That photo ID would also have to denote proof-of-citizenship, according to the legislative text.
DEMOCRAT CLAIMS SAVE ACT WOULD BLOCK MARRIED WOMEN FROM VOTING; REPUBLICANS SAY THAT’S WRONG
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have both panned the bill, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling it “voter suppression” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dismissing it as “a modern-day Jim Crow.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to the media next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at the White House in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Jeffries also specifically took issue with a provision that would enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to initiate removal proceedings if an illegal immigrant was found on a state’s voter rolls, arguing DHS would weaponize the information.
But voter ID, at least, has proven to be a popular standard in U.S. elections across multiple public polls.
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A Pew Research Center poll released in August 2025 showed a whopping 83% of people supported government-issued photo ID requirements for showing up to vote, compared to just 16% of people who disapproved of it.
A Gallup poll from October 2024 showed 84% of people supported photo ID for voting in federal elections.
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