Ellison pledges an additional 67 million Oracle (ORCL.US) shares as loan collateral to support Paramount Sky (PSKY.US) in the $100 billion Warner acquisition deal

According to news from Zhitong Finance APP, as disclosed in a proxy statement filed last Friday, Lawrence Ellison, Executive Chairman and CTO of Oracle (ORCL.US), and a key figure in pushing for Paramount Global (PSKY.US) to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US), has increased his Oracle shares used as collateral for personal loans by 67 million shares compared to a year ago, a 19% increase.

Based on Oracle’s closing price of $137.10 last Friday, the Oracle shares currently pledged by Ellison are worth approximately $9.2 billion, representing about 36% of all his Oracle holdings. Oracle typically prohibits company executives and directors from using company shares as collateral for personal loans, but Ellison is the sole exception.

The increase in pledged shares comes as Ellison is involved in financing Paramount Global’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Global intends to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion, with the Ellison family committing $47 billion in equity capital for the transaction. Around $24 billion of this will come from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. In addition, Paramount Global is seeking debt financing.

Notably, Paramount Global, led by Ellison’s son, David Ellison, has recently moved a step closer to completing the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Last week, Paramount Global reached a settlement with the attorneys general of 12 states and the Writers Guild of America regarding lawsuits previously aimed at blocking the transaction. With these lawsuits resolved, Paramount Global is nearing the finalization of the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

A key term of this settlement involves Paramount Global’s prior commitment to theatrical film releases. According to informed sources, the settlement requires the merged company to release 30 films in cinemas annually. If Paramount Global fails to meet this target, it may face a penalty of $30 million for each film short of the goal. Negotiations also discussed stricter measures: if Paramount Global fails to reach the stipulated theatrical release target, the company may even be required to sell its stake in the Miramax film studio.

In addition to film production and distribution, the editorial independence of CBS and CNN’s news divisions was also a focal point of the negotiations. According to sources, the final plan includes provisions for establishing independent editorial boards for CBS and CNN. Previous proposals had also discussed independent oversight of CNN content.

Paramount Global is the parent company of media assets such as CBS and MTV, while Warner Bros. Discovery owns major assets including CNN, HBO, and the Warner Bros. film studio. Once the transaction is completed, a vast number of film, TV, streaming, and cable assets from the two companies will be consolidated under one group. Thus, aside from traditional antitrust issues, the governance and editorial independence of the merged news businesses have become important topics in the review process.

However, litigation-related delays are placing significant financial pressure on Paramount Global. According to the transaction terms, if the merger is not completed by September 30, 2026, Paramount Global must pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a “ticking fee” of $7 million per day. Paramount Global has requested the court to require the 12 states that filed the lawsuit to post a bond of $1.88 billion to cover costs resulting from litigation-related delays. The company pointed out that, by the time the trial concludes and final legal arguments are submitted next March, it will have paid Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders $1.3 billion in non-recoverable “ticking fees.”

In addition, the document Oracle filed also disclosed information on stock option awards for company management. The two Co-CEOs of Oracle together received stock option awards valued at $870 million. Of these, Clayton Magouyrk received $621.7 million in options, and Michael Sicilia received $248.7 million. Both executives took over as Co-CEOs last year, succeeding longtime Oracle executive Safra Catz. Lawrence Ellison received no equity awards in the previous two fiscal years but was granted stock options valued at $117.8 million this year.