MAGA-aligned billionaires Larry Ellison and his son David have dramatically won a bidding war for CNN’s parent company—and are now on track to turn it Trumpy.
Their Paramount Skydance company has suddenly won its bidding war against Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after upping its bid and the younger Ellison attending Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
The move comes two days after Paramount Skydance revised its offer for the media conglomerate, which also owns HBO, and is Hollywood’s biggest movie maker, from $30 per share to $31 per share.
Once the deal goes through, CNN is widely expected to come under the control of Bari Weiss, the MAGA-curious Substacker who now runs CBS News. That network is already reeling from her turbulent leadership, with Anderson Cooper quitting 60 Minutes to focus solely on his CNN role—meaning that he will be reunited with her in the near future.
Warner Bros. Discovery board members determined earlier on Thursday that Paramount Skydance’s $31-per-share deal to acquire the entirety of the conglomerate was superior to Netflix’s offer, which sought only its streaming service and film studio business.
In a press release shared on Thursday, Netflix announced it would not be matching Paramount Skydance’s offer, saying “the deal is no longer financially attractive.”
Netflix inked a deal in December with Warner Bros. Discovery to acquire HBO Max and its film studios for $72 billion, or $27.75 per share, though Paramount Skydance’s takeover bid followed soon after.
The company’s hostile bid included ownership of all of the conglomerate’s subsidiaries and went straight to shareholders with an initial $30-per-share offer.
In a statement before Netflix backed out of the race, Ellison said: “We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing.”
The billionaire Ellisons are cozy with Trump, who has frequently criticized CNN and called for the network to be sold.
The younger Ellison, who was the guest of MAGA Senator Lindsey Graham at Tuesday’s State of the Union, has previously told administration officials that if his company’s takeover succeeds, he would make changes at the network, according to a report.
The elder Ellison, a Trump-allied tech mogul centibillionaire, backed his son’s hostile takeover bid after his initial $108 billion offer was rejected last year.
Since Paramount’s acquisition of CBS News last year, the appointment of Weiss as the network’s head has sparked uproar over her editorial decisions.
