discovery

Dec. 22 (UPI) — Paramount Skydance amended its hostile bid to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, guaranteeing the backing of Larry Ellison.

“Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount,” the company said in a press release. Ellison also agreed not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets during the pendency of the transaction.

Last week, WBD urged its shareholders not to accept Paramount’s bid, saying it wasn’t backed by billionaire Larry Ellison, father of Paramount’s CEO.

WBD agreed to sell to Netflix but Paramount, which had been in a bidding war with Netflix, mounted a hostile bid.

Paramount didn’t raise its bid of $30 a share, saying it believes the bid is superior. But it did raise its proposed reverse breakup fee to match Netflix’s offer.

“What we’ve done in this amended filing is we’ve cleared the brush of obfuscation around the offer,” said Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday.

RedBird is an investor in Paramount Skydance and has committed to financing the proposed purchase.

Cardinale said the bid is backed by 1.2 billion Oracle shares in an irrevocable trust.

“Like we’ve done through the six bids that we’ve made, we are being responsive to what their concerns are,” Cardinale said.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped 4% in early trading Monday, while Paramount shares rose almost 6%, CNBC reported. Netflix shares dipped slightly.

“Paramount has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to acquiring WBD. Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on Dec. 4, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders,” David Ellison said in a statement. “Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice. We expect the board of directors of WBD to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future.”

The former This Morning guest shared how Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan treated her off-camera, following a “disastrous” moment on the show

A former This Morning guest has revealed how her appearance on the show ended in disaster. Hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan at the time, podcast host Louise Boyce said she was invited onto the show as a teenager for a live haircut, though was mortified by the outcome.

Joined by Richard and Judy’s daughter Chloe Madeley on her podcast, she told her: “Your mum and dad, it [This Morning] was the first TV show that I went on when I was 15. And, I really want to find the footage, it must be in the archives somewhere, but I went on there to have my haircut, a live haircut.

“I was 15 years old, I was still at school and very aware of how I looked and the haircut was disastrous.”

Recalling her immediate reaction, she said she instantly knew it was “horrendous” but politely told the hairdresser she “really liked it” with a shaky voice.

“But, your mum and dad were so kind to me because they must’ve seen or felt that I was just like, ‘I hate what you’ve just [done to me’]’,” she continued on the No Parental Guidance podcast.

“‘You have just violated my hair live on TV, my first ever TV [experience]’. And they were so, your mum and dad, even off-camera they were like, ‘Hair grows, it’s okay’.”

In response, Chloe gushed: “I can’t say it enough how kind he is and how fair of a man he is and how unbelievably good his values and [morals] are. I get really angry when people go for him because I’m like, ‘You don’t know how good this person is’.”

The fitness guru continued by revealing she’d also picked up valuable lessons from her mum, especially regarding being “a calm” and “well adjusted” parent.

Richard and Judy presented the ITV programme from 1998 to 2001. When previously asked about their decision to leave the show, they said it felt like the right moment to move on and explore new ventures.

The duo went on to front their own programme, Richard and Judy, which was broadcast during early evening slots on Channel 4.

Richard remains a familiar presence on ITV as a presenter on Good Morning Britain, while Judy has stepped away from the public eye.

The former broadcaster was most recently spotted on television during their daughter’s ITV documentary, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair.

However, after running for just one series, it didn’t return following Chloe’s split from rugby player James Haskell.

The pair, who are parents to two-year-old daughter Bodhi, announced their separation in 2023 after five years of marriage.

During her recent podcast chat, Chloe revealed that the former couple are still navigating a “stressful” divorce.

Providing an insight into her love life situation, she said she’s content with being single after having a disliking her experience on dating apps.

The sale of Warner Bros. — whether in pieces to Netflix or in its entirety to Paramount — is stirring mounting worries among Hollywood union leaders about the possible fallout for their members.

Unions representing writers, directors, actors and crew workers have voiced growing concerns that further consolidation in the media industry will reduce competition, potentially causing studios to pay less for content, and make it more difficult for people to find work.

“We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends,” said Michele Mulroney, president of the Writers Guild of America West. “There are lots of promises made that one plus one is going to equal three. But it’s very hard to envision how two behemoths, for example, Warner Bros. and Netflix … can keep up the level of output they currently have.”

Last week, Netflix announced it agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV studio, Burbank lot, HBO and HBO Max for $27.75 a share, or $72 billion. It also agreed to take on more than $10 billion of Warner Bros.’ debt. But Paramount, whose previous offers were rebuffed by Warner Bros., has appealed directly to shareholders with an alternative bid to buy all of the company for about $78 billion.

Paramount said it will have more than $6 billion in cuts over three years, while also saying the combined companies will release at least 30 movies a year. Netflix said it expects its deal will have $2 billion to $3 billion in cost cuts.

Those cuts are expected to trigger thousands of layoffs across Hollywood, which has already been squeezed by the flight of production overseas and a contraction in the once booming TV business.

Mulroney said that employment for WGA writers in episodic television is down as much as 40% when comparing the 2023-2024 writing season to 2022-2023.

Executives from both companies have said their deals would benefit creative talent and consumers.

But Hollywood union leaders are skeptical.

“We can hear the generalizations all day long, but it doesn’t really mean anything unless it’s on paper, and we just don’t know if these companies are even prepared to make promises in writing,” said Lindsay Dougherty, Teamsters at-large vice president and principal officer for Local 399, which represents drivers, location managers and casting directors.

Dougherty said the Teamsters have been engaged with both Netflix and Paramount, seeking commitments to keep filming in Los Angeles.

“We have a lot of members that are struggling to find work, or haven’t really worked in the last year or so,” Dougherty said.

Mulroney said her union has concerns about both bids, either by Netflix or Paramount.

“We don’t think the merger is inevitable,” Mulroney said. “We think there’s an opportunity to push back here.”

If Netflix were to buy Warner Bros.’ TV and film businesses, Mulroney said that could further undermine the theatrical business.

“It’s hard to imagine them fully embracing theatrical exhibition,” Mulroney said. “The exhibition business has been struggling to get back on its feet ever since the pandemic, so a move like this could really be existential.”

But the Writers Guild also has issues with Paramount’s bid, Mulroney said, noting that it would put Paramount-owned CBS News and CNN under the same parent company.

“We have censorship concerns,” Mulroney said. “We saw issues around [Stephen] Colbert and [Jimmy] Kimmel. We’re concerned about what the news would look like under single ownership here.”

That question was made more salient this week after President Trump, who has for years harshly criticized CNN’s hosts and news coverage, said he believes CNN should be sold.

The worries come as some unions’ major studio contracts, including the DGA, WGA and performers guild SAG-AFTRA, are set to expire next year. Two years ago, writers and actors went on a prolonged strike to push for more AI protections and better wages and benefits.

The Directors Guild of America and performers union SAG-AFTRA have voiced similar objections to the pending media consolidation.

“A deal that is in the interest of SAG-AFTRA members and all other workers in the entertainment industry must result in more creation and more production, not less,” the union said.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the union has been in discussions with both Paramount and Netflix.

“It is as yet unclear what path forward is going to best protect the legacy that Warner Brothers presents, and that’s something that we’re very actively investigating right now,” he said.

It’s not clear, however, how much influence the unions will have in the outcome.

“They just don’t have a seat at the ultimate decision making table,” said David Smith, a professor of economics at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. “I expect their primary involvement could be through creating more awareness of potential challenges with a merger and potentially more regulatory scrutiny … I think that’s what they’re attempting to do.”