David Ellison-led Paramount Skydance has raised approximately $24 billion for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The investment is provided by three sovereign wealth funds based in the Middle East region, which represents one of the biggest cross-border investments in the media industry recently.
As per the information verified by Variety, Saudi Arabia-based Public Investment Fund has made an investment of approximately $10 billion. The remaining amount will be raised from Qatar and Abu Dhabi-based government-owned funds. The investors will invest non-voting shares, which will not give them control over the company.
The valuation of Warner Bros. Discovery for Paramount’s deal is approximately $111 billion. The deal is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval in the US.
The arrangement in the deal will be a crucial consideration when approving the deal. Paramount Skydance indicated in its statement that the foreign partners will not get any governance rights and even be granted seats on the board of directors in the corporation. The reason why it was done this way was to protect the deal from CFIUS scrutiny since it examines any deal whose implementation might affect national security in the country.
Nevertheless, there is growing concern among politicians regarding the issue of foreign investments in the media business.
There is a group of Senate Democrats who are calling for the FCC to conduct a thorough examination of the deal. Their reasoning is that non-voting shares might also be used for exerting influence over time.
Paramount-Skydance Merger: Regulatory Hurdles, Ellison Funding, and the Shift in Global Investment
Even the Department of Justice is being careful with the matter. As Omeed Assefi, an acting head of the antitrust division in the DOJ stated, the deal will not have a fast-track review in the department.
The deal itself has attracted some interest because of the involvement of the Ellison family. David Ellison, in particular, is funded by his father, Larry Ellison, who has pledged up to $46.7 billion towards the deal. With such substantial personal support, the deal itself is less risky financially for Paramount Skydance.
The involvement of the Middle Eastern investment group helps to lessen the personal involvement required on the part of Larry Ellison. It also represents an increasing trend whereby sovereign wealth funds are acquiring stakes in companies all around the world, including in the media, technology, and entertainment sectors.
Investors themselves have changed positions. Tencent, who was willing to invest a billion dollars into the deal, has since pulled out owing to worries expressed by the Warner Bros. Discovery Board regarding foreign ownership. More recent reports have indicated that Tencent may once again be getting involved with a fresh investment.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board members agreed to accept the offer made by Paramount at the beginning of the year after Netflix decided not to compete with them by putting forward an alternative bid. The deal will be discussed at the special shareholders’ meeting, which is going to take place on April 23.
Regulatory Hurdles and the New Media Landscape
While that decision is likely to be important, it still won’t decide the issue as the process will require regulatory approval, which can prove to be very difficult to get given the participation of several foreign investors in the deal.
However, it also illustrates how things have changed in the media industry where traditional studios struggle with competition provided by streaming platforms and growing production costs. In that regard, acquisitions and consolidation help companies grow their presence in the media industry through mergers.
From that perspective, the acquisition of Paramount Skydance by Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to make the latter a bigger media company. It will unite different types of media assets under one roof.
It is not, however, going to be easy. Political reviews, regulatory assessments, and shareholder votes all lie ahead before the deal can be completed. They will all affect how the deal ends up structured and the level of power wielded by each investor.
For the time being, the fact that there has been a commitment of $24 billion does speak volumes about their faith in the deal. It also reflects just how international in scope these media deals have become. What the regulators think of this development will determine its success or failure.
