Paramount executives have discussed asking billionaire Elon Musk to join a syndicate of equity investors, Semafor reported.
- The size of any potential Musk investment could not be determined, the report said.
- Oracle founder Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father, has invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 take-private of X, formerly Twitter, put money into Tesla in 2018, and served on Tesla’s board for years.
- Larry Ellison has also personally guaranteed more than $40 billion of the equity financing that made Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition possible.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is looking for fresh equity as it absorbs Warner Bros Discovery Inc. (WBD), and billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly among the names under discussion.
PSKY shares were up about 1% at the time of writing in a choppy session in which the stock fell as much as 3%.
Exploratory Talks, Not A Closed Deal
Paramount executives have discussed asking Musk to join a syndicate of equity investors, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Musk is one of several wealthy individuals Chief Executive David Ellison has considered for that group. The size of any potential Musk investment could not be determined, the report said.
A Paramount spokesperson declined comment on the report.
Why The Ellison Relationship Matters
The idea sits on a long Ellison-Musk relationship. Oracle founder Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father, has invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 take-private of X, formerly Twitter, put money into Tesla in 2018, and served on Tesla’s board for years.
Larry Ellison has also personally guaranteed more than $40 billion of the equity financing that made Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition possible.
PSKY-WBD Deal
Paramount Skydance is buying Warner Bros Discovery for $31 a share in cash—about $81 billion in equity and $110 billion including debt. After topping Netflix’s earlier offer, the deal won shareholder and most regulatory approvals but stalled on lawsuits from 12 states and the Writers Guild. Those cases settled earlier this week after Paramount pledged minimum theatrical slates, $1.5 billion in U.S. production, and editorial safeguards for CNN and CBS.
David Ellison said earlier this week in a note to employees that a deal closing could come in about two weeks. The combined company would house Paramount Pictures, the Warner Bros. studio, CBS, HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and networks including CNN, TNT, TruTV, and MTV.
How Did PSKY Retail Traders React?
On Stocktwits, sentiment around PSKY stock remained ‘extremely bullish’ at the time of writing, while message volume stayed ‘extremely high.’
A Stocktwits user highlighted Larry Ellison and Musk’s longstanding companionship and noted that a potential investment in PSKY would be a “good return of the favor.”
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“Elon has always wanted a media arm,” another user said.
View this Stocktwits post
PSKY stock has fallen 24% year-to-date.
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