Following the report from last month, The Wall Street Journal now reports that Paramount is close to securing nearly $24 billion in equity commitments from three Gulf sovereign wealth funds to back its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is said to be contributing about $10 billion, with Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding also involved.
Paramount is nearing signed commitments
Earlier reporting said Gulf money was backing Paramount’s bid. The new WSJ update moves that a step further by saying Paramount is now nearing signed commitments.
Reuters, citing the Journal, also reported that the investors would not receive voting rights in the combined company, meaning the Gulf investors would not have any direct control.
The site added that Paramount does not expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to trigger review by CFIUS or the FCC because the investments are structured as non-voting stakes (again, looked at as investors, not owners).
Deadline added that an agreement could come as soon as Monday, April 6, which shows the financing may be getting close to the finish line.
What we’ve been told
We have been told by Hollywood insiders that the Saudis are bringing back the SnyderVerse and are backing big projects at Paramount.
Nothing official has been announced but the closer this financing gets to being finalized, the more attention will turn to what a new regime could want from DC and Warner’s other major franchises.
This is, in part, why we have been told that the SnyderVerse talk has not gone away. In our recent report, we were told Zack Snyder was approached for a return, not the other way around.
