Paramount is mulling asking mult- billionaire Elon Musk to join its equity investors syndicate, according to a Semafor report citing sources in the know on Wednesday. The size of the potetntial investment has not yet been determined.
Paramount's Chief Executive Officer David Ellison's father Larry Ellison, who is the co-founder of Oracle, has long held close ties with Musk. According to The Guardian, Larry Ellison was often described as a mentor to Musk, who also often frequents Lanai, Ellison's island in Hawaii.
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Ellison also guaranteed over $40 billion of the equity financing for Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. He also invested $1 billion into Musk's deal to take 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) private in 2022. Ellison had invested in Musk's electric vehicle company Tesla in 2018, and served on the board of directors from Dec. 27, 2018, until he stepped down in August 2022.
Musk's investment into Paramount may likely help ease Ellison's financial liabilities and diversify Paramount's portfolio of investors. There may also be political implications as Paramount owns news channels CBS and is finalising its acquisition of CNN. Musk, who was involved with the Trump administration, helped lead and publicise the Department Of Government Efficiency.
Paramount had reached an agreement with 12 state attorneys general, removing a major hurdle to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, as per reports on Monday.
ALSO READ: Paramount Clears Major Hurdle In Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover With Multi-State Settlement
The agreement comes just days before Paramount was due to start paying a $7 million daily “ticking fee” from October 1. Bloomberg was the first to report the development, followed by The Wall Street Journal.
The proposed $111 billion merger, the largest in Hollywood history, had been put on hold because of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the states. The trial in the case was scheduled to begin on March 2, 2027.
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