Paramount executives reportedly have discussed asking billionaire Elon Musk to take an equity stake in its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery – a move that could fuel the burgeoning panic among CNN staffers.
Hollywood mogul David Ellison is looking to build up his media empire’s finances ahead of the mega merger, and has been mulling over several wealthy individuals who could back the deal, according to a Semafor report. The size of the investment that Paramount is seeking is unclear.
His father, Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, is currently on the hook for more than $40 billion of the equity financing supporting the acquisition, and a contribution from Musk – a close friend – could help reduce the burden, the report said.
An investment from Musk could incite uproar at left-leaning CNN, where staffers are already in a panic about potential layoffs and who will be in charge of the network once David Ellison takes over, sources told The Post.
“Amazing it comes out now of course,” the CNN source said of the Musk news – adding that it’s a bad look for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who backed the deal as he feared Paramount could exit the state and take thousands of jobs with it. “Not good for Gavin!”
As part of its settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Paramount pledged to create independent editorial boards for both CBS News and CNN – though it hasn’t shared details on what powers these boards will have.
Layoffs weren’t addressed in detail by the California settlement — and employees at both companies fear a bloodbath in the months ahead.
“When it rains…[it pours],” one CNN source said of the Musk news. “It’s really scary given what he did at X and DOGE.”
Paramount declined to comment.
At CBS News, Bari Weiss – who was made editor-in-chief by David after his company Skydance acquired Paramount – has faced serious blowback for axing longtime “60 Minutes” correspondents and her oversight of newsroom coverage.
Larry Ellison has supported Musk – the world’s richest person – throughout his many business endeavors, investing $1 billion in his takeover of X, formerly known as Twitter, and serving on Tesla’s board of directors for years.
An investment from Musk could help boost the image of the newly-combined company in the eyes of investors, since the South African billionaire has a dedicated investor following.
His rocket-launch firm, SpaceX, broke records with its market debut this summer and was last trading at $150.20 a share, even though much of the company is unprofitable.
Ellison’s media merger was officially greenlit this week after Paramount reached a settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta over his antitrust lawsuit.
Paramount pledged to spend an additional $1.5 billion on domestic production over the next five years and release 30 films theatrically each year, increasing to 32 films after the first two years. Each year’s releases must include 20 blockbusters and at least four independent films.
If Paramount fails to meet these release thresholds in any given year, it will be forced to sell Miramax Studios, home to classics like “Pulp Fiction.”
The settlement terms also include a requirement to negotiate cable deals separately and a pledge to ramp up domestic production to 20% or even 30% of all films – up from 5% currently – if Congress passes certain tax credits.
Ellison now stands to become one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, with control of HBO Max, Paramount+, HBO, CBS, CNN and thousands of iconic movie titles.