Larry Ellison gives $40bn personal guarantee to Warner Bros Discovery bid
Media news: Paramount has improved its hostile takeover offer for Warner Brothers, as it wrestles with Netflix to take control of the movie studio, streaming and cable operator.
Paramount is now offering a personal financial guarantee worth more than $40bn from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. This guarantee is designed to resolve doubts about the financing of Paramount’s offer.
It is alaso beefing up its reverse break-up fee (payable if Paramount can’t get the deal past regulators) to $5.8bn, to match Netflix’s.
Today’s improved terms come less than a week after Warner Brothers rejected Paramount’s $108.4bn bid, worth $30 per share, in favour of Netflix’s $72bn deal.
David Ellison is urging Warner Brothers to accept his proposal instead, saying:
“Paramount has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to acquiring WBD. Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice. We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future.”
Here are the details of Paramount’s improved terms:
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Irrevocable Personal Guarantee: Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.
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Revocable Trust: Mr. Ellison has agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust (which has been operating for nearly 40 years as a counterparty to numerous transactions) or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction.
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Trust Assets: Paramount is publishing records confirming that the Ellison family trust owns approximately 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock and that all material liabilities of the Ellison family trust are publicly disclosed.
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Transaction Terms: In an effort to address WBD’s amorphous need for “flexibility” in interim operations, Paramount’s revised proposed merger agreement offers further improved flexibility to WBD on debt refinancing transactions, representations and interim operating covenants.
-
Regulatory Termination Fee: To match the pending transaction, Paramount will increase its regulatory reverse termination fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion.
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Conditions: The offer is conditioned, among other things, on WBD continuing to own 100% of its Global Networks business. All other terms and conditions of the offer remain unchanged.
Key events
UK’s OBR to prepare economic and fiscal forecast on 3 March 2026
A date for the diary for UK readers: the Spring Forecast – an update on the country’s economy and public finances – will be delivered on 3 March.
However, it isn’t expected to be as dramatic as last month’s budget, as the UK’s fiscal watchdog won’t be measuring performance against the government’s fiscal targets (so there won’t be pressure for tax rises or spending cuts to avoid breaching them).
Hopefully the OBR will avoid leaking its report early again too.
The government says:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast for publication on 3 March 2026.
As set out at the Budget, the Spring forecast will not make an assessment of the government’s performance against the fiscal mandate and will instead provide an interim update on the economy and public finances.
The government will respond to the March forecast through a statement to Parliament, in line with the government’s commitment to deliver one major fiscal event a year at the Budget.
This approach gives families and businesses the stability and certainty they need and supports the government’s growth mission.
Paramount’s sweetened offer for Warner Brothers may not be enough to snatch the prize from Netflix’s clutches, suggests Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight.
Pescatore says (via Reuters):
“Paramount remains in a precarious position and is making a last-ditch effort to avoid being left out in the shadows.
“The improved offer is a step in the right direction, but it is unlikely to be enough.”
Shares in Warner Brothers Discovery are up almost 4% in pre-market trading after Paramount beefed up its offer for the company.
That has lifted them from $27.77 to almost $29, close to Paramount’s offer of $30 per share which the Warner Bros board rejected last week, in favour of Netflix’s offer (worth $27.75 per share).
$WBD Warner Bros. Discovery shares are trading higher after Paramount announced it amended its $30 per share all-cash offer to acquire the company
— Stocknear (@stocknear) December 22, 2025
Larry Ellison gives $40bn personal guarantee to Warner Bros Discovery bid
Media news: Paramount has improved its hostile takeover offer for Warner Brothers, as it wrestles with Netflix to take control of the movie studio, streaming and cable operator.
Paramount is now offering a personal financial guarantee worth more than $40bn from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. This guarantee is designed to resolve doubts about the financing of Paramount’s offer.
It is alaso beefing up its reverse break-up fee (payable if Paramount can’t get the deal past regulators) to $5.8bn, to match Netflix’s.
Today’s improved terms come less than a week after Warner Brothers rejected Paramount’s $108.4bn bid, worth $30 per share, in favour of Netflix’s $72bn deal.
David Ellison is urging Warner Brothers to accept his proposal instead, saying:
“Paramount has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to acquiring WBD. Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders. Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice. We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future.”
Here are the details of Paramount’s improved terms:
-
Irrevocable Personal Guarantee: Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.
-
Revocable Trust: Mr. Ellison has agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust (which has been operating for nearly 40 years as a counterparty to numerous transactions) or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction.
-
Trust Assets: Paramount is publishing records confirming that the Ellison family trust owns approximately 1.16 billion shares of Oracle common stock and that all material liabilities of the Ellison family trust are publicly disclosed.
-
Transaction Terms: In an effort to address WBD’s amorphous need for “flexibility” in interim operations, Paramount’s revised proposed merger agreement offers further improved flexibility to WBD on debt refinancing transactions, representations and interim operating covenants.
-
Regulatory Termination Fee: To match the pending transaction, Paramount will increase its regulatory reverse termination fee from $5 billion to $5.8 billion.
-
Conditions: The offer is conditioned, among other things, on WBD continuing to own 100% of its Global Networks business. All other terms and conditions of the offer remain unchanged.
“The UK economy is in a better place than the media narrative suggests,” says Marc Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services.
He explaiins:
Inflation is coming down as administrative price pressures ebb, and the recent budget measures will likely see CPI fall well below the BoE’s 2.0% target (sub 1.5% by mid-2026??). The growth outlook is not great, something around 1.0-1.5% for the next couple of years, but a lot better than the media narrative which sounds as though the country is in a long-standing recession.
To be sure the current government is a shambles, unable to formulate any form of cohesive policies, above all due to very deep ideological divisions in the Labour party, as well as being able to seize defeat at every possible opportunity. UK assets remain cheap on a relative basis, but with hefty competition from the likes of the US and China in industrial policy and incentive terms, a relatively small economy that is not aligned with any economic bloc, and many infrastructure hurdles and deficits, it is difficult to see how a bigger boost could materialize in he near term.
China hits EU dairy products with provisional duties up to 42.7%
China has announced new tariffs against Europe’s dairy industry.
Beijing will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on certain dairy products imported from the European Union, the Ministry of Commerce announced today, saying it had found evidence that EU dairy imports were subsidised and hurting Chinese producers.
The move follows the first phase of an anti-subsidy probe conducted by China, following Europe’s new tariffs on electric cars.
The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, although most companies will pay around 30%, and they target products like milk and cheese, including the iconic French blue cheese Roquefort.
Reuters has more details:
Roughly 60 firms, including Arla Foods, owner of brands like Lurpak and Castello, will pay tariffs between 28.6% to 29.7%.
Italy’s Sterilgarda Alimenti SpA will pay the lowest rate of 21.9% while FrieslandCampina Belgium N.V. and FrieslandCampina Nederland B.V. will pay the highest rate of 42.7%.
Firms that did not participate in the investigation will pay the highest rate.
Fuel retailers accused over “persistently high” margins
UK fuel retailers are being accused of inflicting ‘rocket and feather’ pump pricing on drivers in the lead-up to Christmas.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is warning this morning that fuel margins remain high, despite falling pump prices in the past year.
The CMA’s first road fuel monitoring annual report has found that changes in operating costs were not a driver of increases in average fuel margins, despite claims from retailers that costs have been rising, and need to be passed on.
The CMA also found that pump prices have reduced significantly since it completed a Market Study into the fuel sector in July 2023, largely due to reductions in the price of crude oil and refining spreads.
But while average retail spreads have reduced, they remain significantly above historic 2015-19 averages in real terms.
Drivers body the AA says retailers are overcharging drivers, saying:
“Since the third week of November, the wholesale cost of petrol has crashed more than 7p a litre. With the VAT at the pump, that should be a saving of 8.4p or £4.60 a tank. Instead, the average petrol pump price has fallen just two-thirds of a penny.
“This is classic ‘rocket and feather’ pricing at the pumps and the bane of UK drivers. This time it comes as millions of drivers take to the road for Christmas and are being overcharged for their fuel.
UK’s Harbour Energy enters Gulf of Mexico with $3.2bn LLOG deal
North Sea-focused oil and gas producer Harbour Energy is branching out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Harbour has agreed a deal to buy deepwater oil and gas exploration and production company LLOG Exploration for $3.2bn, a deal that will boost its fossil fuel output.
The acquisition will help Harbour’s overall production reach about 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of the decade, and be accretive to free cash flow from 2027, the company said.
However, the City may have concerns – shares in Harbour have dropped by over 5%, making it one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 250 share index.
LLOG has been looking for a buyer following the death of founder Gerald Boelte last year.
The company was one of the winners from the US government’s first sale of oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf since 2023 earlier this month.
One piece of good news in today’s UK national accounts report – business investment was strong than first estimated.
The Office for National Statistics now believes business investment increased by 1.5% in the third quarter of this year, revised up from the first estimate fall of 0.3%.
This means business investment is now 2.7% higher compared with the same quarter a year ago.
The drop in UK household savings in the last quarter may suggest people grew slightly less wary about spending.
Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, explains:
The household saving rate fell to 9.5% in Q3, from 10.2% in Q2, suggesting that consumers were fractionally less cautious than the ONS previously assessed, and consistent with the Bank of England cutting interest rates by 25bp in August.
The statisticians also revised down their estimate of the saving rate in Q2 to 10.2%, from 10.7% before, continuing a now-reliable pattern in the data of repeated downward revisions