Paramount deal carries $79B net debt with no cable spin-offs
Paramount finalized its $100 billion, $31-per-share acquisition of Warner Bros, committing to a combined net debt of $79 billion with no plans to divest cable networks. Financing includes $47 billion of equity from the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners plus $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo.
1. Deal Structure and Debt Burden
Paramount Skydance completed a $100 billion, $31-per-share bid for Warner Bros, resulting in a combined net debt of $79 billion. CEO David Ellison confirmed no cable networks will be divested or spun off as part of the transaction.
2. Financing Details
Equity contributions total $47 billion from the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners, supplemented by $54 billion in debt commitments secured from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo. Paramount has already paid the $2.8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix.
3. Strategic Rationale and Timeline
The merger creates one of the industry's largest IP libraries, combining franchises like Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Mission Impossible and SpongeBob SquarePants. The deal is slated to close in the third quarter of this year, aiming to bolster Paramount’s streaming scale and market positioning.