According to a bombshell report from Semafor, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is actively considering tapping tech visionaries and wealthy investors, including free-speech champion Elon Musk, to build a powerhouse investor syndicate for Paramount’s massive takeover merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
If completed, this game-changing deal would bring both CBS and the ultra-left propaganda outlet CNN under the exact same corporate umbrella, with Musk holding significant backing and ownership stakes.
Larry Ellison, David’s father and the Oracle billionaire who personally guaranteed more than $40 billion of the equity financing for the deal, has a long relationship with Musk.
Larry Ellison put $1 billion into Musk’s 2022 takeover of Twitter, now X. He also invested in Tesla and served on its board.
The same family that bought Paramount, installed Bari Weiss at CBS News, and spent the last year ripping the activist rot out of “60 Minutes” is now looking at bringing in the man who bought Twitter and ended the old regime’s censorship operation.
The merger itself is nearly across the finish line. After a year of bidding wars, shareholder votes, Trump DOJ approval, and a last-ditch lawsuit from California AG Rob Bonta and a coalition of Democrat state attorneys general, the sides reached a settlement this week. The deal is expected to close in early October, according to The New York Times.
The Gateway Pundit has tracked this fight from the beginning.
In February, Paramount won the bidding war after Netflix walked away. Warner Bros. shareholders later approved the sale despite the usual Hollywood tantrum about “narrowing the range” of films, which in practice meant fewer lectures and more movies people actually want to watch.
In July, a Biden-appointed judge in Oakland issued a temporary restraining order after Bonta and 11 other mostly Democrat AGs sued to kill the deal. The Gateway Pundit reported that Paramount was already looking at packing up and leaving California over Bonta’s lawfare.
TMZ later reported that L.A. and state officials were told Paramount planned to announce it was leaving California. Ellison had already moved headquarters from New York to Los Angeles after buying Paramount. Bonta’s lawsuit was the thanks he got.
Meanwhile, Bari Weiss, brought in after Paramount bought The Free Press, has been doing exactly what the old CBS newsroom feared. She fired the far-left executive producer of “60 Minutes,” dumped anti-Trump correspondents, and started treating the show like a news program instead of a Democratic Super PAC.
CNN staffers have already been bracing for the same treatment. Reports earlier this year said Ellison and his team were considering giving Weiss some oversight of CNN after the merger. Mark Thompson, CNN’s editor-in-chief, reportedly told Paramount he would not share control. The newsroom is not happy.
Now add Musk’s name to the conversation and watch the panic intensify.
Semafor reported:
Paramount, looking to firm up its financial picture as it digests Warner Bros. Discovery, is looking for fresh sources of cash. Executives at the company have discussed asking Elon Musk to become part of a syndicate of equity investors into Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter.
[…]
The size of a potential Musk investment could not be determined. A spokesperson for Paramount declined comment. Musk did not return a request for comment.
An investment from Musk would be a significant vote of confidence in the combined Paramount Warner Bros. from a businessman who also has a devoted retail investor following. A check from Musk or other big financial backers would also give Paramount a more diversified investor base, and reduce Larry Ellison’s financial burden.
But having Musk in this deal would also be politically fraught: Musk’s dollars and political influence were concerning to Democrats during the 2024 election, given his control of X. The possibility of him having even partial ownership in CNN and CBS would likely raise alarm bells in Washington, even though it is unlikely Musk would have formal input over the company’s operations.
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