CNBC put Musk's investment in Skydance at about $1 billion, citing a person familiar with the transaction. The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. CNBC said Semafor had first reported the investment Thursday. The outlet said it had not received immediate responses to its comment requests from Musk or Skydance representatives.
Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed Oct. 6, and the combined company was named Skydance. As co-CEOs, David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz have been assigned to bring together the Paramount and Warner Bros. film studios, Paramount+ and HBO Max, along with corporate support functions, television networks and two news divisions.
Skydance has set a three-year goal of $6 billion in cost reductions. CNBC estimated its debt at nearly $80 billion and reported that shares fell about 1% Thursday. Semafor reported that Musk's investment was part of Skydance's broader effort to raise equity.
Larry Ellison, an Oracle co-founder and David Ellison's father, has financial ties to both Musk and Paramount. He supplied $1 billion toward Musk's 2022 Twitter purchase; the platform is now known as X. Ellison invested in Tesla in 2018 and served on its board. He also personally guaranteed more than $40 billion in equity financing for Paramount's bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
