Paramount Skydance CEO and Trump suck-up David Ellison sent a lengthy letter to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders on Wednesday begging them to tender their shares.
In the 11-page letter addressed to shareholders, Ellison spoke to the “superior value” of his company’s hostile takeover bid compared to the bid by Netflix—one that Warner Bros. Discovery previously accepted on Friday.
“We funded, founded and then merged Skydance with Paramount and know the sacrifices and investment it takes to capitalize and grow a media business,“ Ellison wrote. ”I am passionate and dedicated to this pursuit, committed to putting my own money in, and that is why I am writing to you today.”
”IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO REALIZE THE BENEFITS OF PARAMOUNT’S PROPOSAL IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACT NOW AND TENDER YOUR SHARES," he added in all caps.
Ellison, 42, said that Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery would provide shareholders with a higher cash price per share of $30 and lower regulatory uncertainty.
He also cast doubt on the “murky sale process” between Warner Bros. and Paramount, saying that his company never heard back following their $30 per share all-cash offer.
“Instead, and while in possession of our superior and fully committed bid and documents that entire day, the WBD’s Murky Sale Process Board and its advisors sprinted toward a deal with Netflix (even ignoring two separate texts from myself and Paramount’s advisors stating that we had never said “best and final”),” he wrote.
He concluded the letter—before an extensive FAQs section—with a final note, again in all caps: “WE URGE YOU TO REGISTER YOUR VIEW WITH THE WBD BOARD THAT YOU DEEM PARAMOUNT’S OFFER TO BE SUPERIOR BY TENDERING YOUR SHARES TODAY.”
Representatives for Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment.
On Monday, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at over $108 billion, hoping to yank potential ownership of the conglomerate away from Netflix.
Ellison’s company seeks full control over Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries, including CNN, while Netflix seeks only to acquire Warner Bros.’ streaming, studio, and gaming properties. Netflix’s agreement with the conglomerate totals $83.7 billion.
Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, acquired Paramount in an $8 billion merger with his company, Skydance, in August.
The elder Ellison, 81, warned President Donald Trump that a deal between Warner Bros. and Netflix would hurt competition, given that Netflix and HBO Max together account for around 43 percent of the market.
The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a key financial backer in Paramount’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. through his firm, Affinity Partners.
Trump, 79, spoke with reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night about the deal, saying it “could be a problem.”
The younger Ellison told Trump administration officials that if the takeover succeeds, he would make changes to CNN—something the president said on Wednesday he would like to see happen.
“I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold,” Trump told reporters after a roundtable discussion with tech business leaders. “I think CNN should be sold because the people that are running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent.”
