David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance confirmed on Tuesday that it has brought on sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi as investors in its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
In an SEC filing, Paramount said the successful equity syndication agreement between the three Middle East funds and LionTree “represents an important milestone in the WBD transaction process, and we believe that the resulting diversification of our shareholder base, potential strategic and commercial opportunities with various equity syndication parties, and the value of the stock options described below will enhance long-term shareholder value.”
Paramount did not elaborate on what the “strategic and commercial opportunities” would be with Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar or the Lion Tree funds.
Paramount’s pending $111 billion deal with WBD would combine Paramount assets, including CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+, with WBD’s HBO and HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN, TNT, TBS, HGTV, and more. The deal still requires approval from Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders and regulatory approval.
Paramount’s 8-K filing with the SEC does not disclose how much each party has invested in Paramount Skydance. Variety previously confirmed that the three Middle East funds have invested a total of nearly $24 billion, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund taking a stake worth about $10 billion.
According to Paramount 8-K filings, the equity syndicate party consists of affiliates of the Ellison family (David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison) and Redbird Capital Partners, as well as the following institutional investors: L’Imad 1st SPV 2 Exempt RSC (an investment vehicle of L’imad Holding, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund). QIA TMT Holding (an investment vehicle of Qatar Investment Authority); and Lion Tree Investment Fund.
Paramount Skydance also said in Tuesday’s filing that it believes the PSKY stock purchase rights issued to syndicated investors “support our long-term goal of broadening and deepening our public offering.”
Paramount Skydance said the PSKY shares issued to equity syndicate investors are “non-voting,” and that “the Ellison family and Redbird together continue to hold the largest share of PSKY and remain the sole owners of PSKY Class A common stock, which represents 100% of PSKY’s voting stock.” Additionally, the company said the agreement to provide shares to syndicated investors is “structured to comply with all applicable U.S. regulatory requirements (including FCC requirements) and will not affect the timing or likelihood of closing under the (Warner Bros. Discovery) Merger Agreement.”
Mr. and Mrs. Ellison and Redbird are offering a private investment in Paramount Skydance’s Class B common stock at a price of $16.02 per share.
Paramount and WBD expect the merger to close in the third quarter of 2026. If Paramount’s acquisition of WBD is not completed by September 30, 2026, Paramount has agreed to pay WBD stockholders a “ticking fee” of 25 cents per share (measured daily) each quarter until completion. This would result in an additional approximately $650 million increase in the value of the contract on a quarterly basis.
Despite assurances from Paramount that foreign investment funds are passive investors with no board representation and that the potential national security risks do not rise to the level of requiring a review of foreign capital regulations by the FCC or the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), several Democratic lawmakers have called on the Trump administration to do so.
Last month, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked the Trump administration’s Treasury Department to initiate a CFIUS national security review of the Paramount Skydance WBD deal.
Later, 12 House Democrats also asked the U.S. Treasury Department to scrutinize the impact of Paramount and WBD’s proposal on foreign investment. “This is a bad deal for consumers and for America’s free press, reducing competition and giving foreign-backed investors greater control over America’s major news networks,” Rep. Sam Licciardo (D-Calif.), who led the effort among House Democrats, said in a March 12 statement.
