Paramount Skydance is still not backing down from acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. The company has amended its $108 billion offer to include Larry Ellison’s “irrevocable personal guarantee” worth $40.4 billion. Ellison is the founder of Oracle and a backer of Skydance, which was created by his son David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance.
On December 17, the WBD formally recommended shareholders reject Paramount’s offer. WBD had already accepted an $82.7 billion offer from Netflix, which will be closed sometime next year after regulatory approval. ,[The board] “Unanimously determined that the tender offer launched by Paramount Skydance on December 8, 2025 is not in the best interests of WBD and its shareholders and does not meet the criteria for a ‘superior offer’ under the terms of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix announced on December 5, 2025,” WBD said.
The Paramount deal included the backing of sovereign wealth funds in places like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But Ellison had previously said that, if other funders dropped out, he would “hold back the full amount of the bid.” This was not a sufficient guarantee for WBD.
Now, Paramount has returned with irrevocable personal guarantees and an agreement that it will not “cancel” or “adversely transfer” the assets of the Ellison family trust while the senior Ellison transaction is pending. WBD had stated that the only solution to Paramount’s inadequate offer was a personal guarantee.
Paramount may have taken this step, but not with a smile on its face: “None of these concerns, nor the demand for individual guarantees, were raised by WBD or its advisors to Paramount in the 12-week period in which WBD agreed to the substandard transaction with Netflix, Inc.,” the company said of its updated proposal.
David Allison said, “Our $30 per share, fully funded all-cash offer was due on December 4, and it remains the better option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be better for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for more content production, more theatrical output and more consumer choice.” “We expect WBD’s Board of Directors to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future.”
Paramount’s updated proposal includes liquidating the trust’s assets, more flexible transaction terms and increasing its “regulatory reverse termination fee” from $5 billion to $5.8 billion – in line with Netflix.
Paramount’s offer will expire on January 21, 2026.
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