Paramount Skydance Secures $24B Backing From Middle East for Warner Bros. Takeover

Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, has secured nearly $24 billion in funding from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds to support its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Variety.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is expected to contribute around $10 billion, with additional backing coming from state funds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. This financing arrangement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The proposed takeover, which values Warner Bros. Discovery at about $111 billion, is still awaiting regulatory approval. Both companies aim to finalize the deal by the end of the third quarter of 2026. However, U.S. antitrust officials have indicated that the review process will not be expedited, partly due to political sensitivities, including the Ellison family’s ties to Donald Trump.

Warner Bros. Discovery has scheduled a shareholder vote on the deal for April 23. Paramount’s initial offer included the same $24 billion in funding from Middle Eastern investors, though the exact contributions from each fund have not been publicly updated. The board accepted Paramount’s $31-per-share bid in February after Netflix chose not to make a competing offer.

Tencent, the Chinese tech company that had initially pledged $1 billion, was briefly excluded from the deal due to concerns over foreign ownership but has since rejoined as an investor with new funding.

To address regulatory concerns, the Middle Eastern funds have agreed not to seek any control or governance rights, including board seats, in exchange for their non-voting equity stakes. Paramount argues this structure should keep the deal outside the jurisdiction of CFIUS, the U.S. body that reviews foreign investments for national security risks.

Despite this, several U.S. lawmakers have called for closer scrutiny. A group of seven Democratic senators has urged the FCC to conduct a thorough review of the foreign investments, while Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have criticized the Treasury Department for not initiating a national security review.

Reports suggest that each of the Middle Eastern funds will hold well under a 25% stake in the merged company, which Paramount believes will help avoid triggering an FCC review.

Separately, Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father and Oracle co-founder, has pledged up to $46.7 billion for the acquisition. The involvement of the Middle Eastern investors will reduce the amount he ultimately needs to invest.