Elon Musk Could Back Paramount's $110bn Warner Bros Deal After Larry Ellison's $1bn X Investment

Paramount has discussed asking Elon Musk to invest in its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which values the company at approximately £83bn ($110bn) on an enterprise-value basis, Semafor reported on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.

The possible approach follows Larry Ellison's roughly £755m ($1bn) investment in Musk's purchase of Twitter, now X.

The discussions come as Paramount, led by Ellison's son David, looks for additional investors before completing the Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Musk is among several wealthy people under consideration. The size of any investment he might make is unknown.

Why Elon Musk Is on Paramount's Investor List

Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, has supplied financial support for his son's bid. His connection to Musk predates the Paramount talks. In 2018, he invested in Tesla and subsequently served on its board. Four years later, he committed roughly £755m ($1bn) to Musk's approximately £33.2bn ($44bn) acquisition of Twitter, now called X.

That history explains the link in the proposed approach, though it does not establish Musk's interest in becoming a Paramount shareholder. Semafor based its account on people familiar with discussions inside the company. Those discussions concerned asking him to join a syndicate of investors, rather than a completed agreement or a disclosed offer.

A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment on Semafor. Musk did not respond to the outlet's request for comment. Neither has publicly confirmed that he has been asked to participate.

The reported search for investors puts Larry Ellison's existing commitment into focus. He has made an irrevocable personal guarantee covering a large portion of the equity financing, while his family and RedBird Capital Partners backstop the transaction.

Adding another investor could change how much the existing backers ultimately contribute, although no proposed division involving Musk has been made public.

Where Elon Musk Could Fit Into the Warner Bros Deal

The merger's financing includes approximately £35.5bn ($47bn) in equity, with contributions from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and LionTree Investment Fund. Those investors will have no board seats or governance rights. The size and nature of any Musk stake, including any accompanying rights, have not been disclosed.

Following the merger, foreign investors are expected to hold 49.5 per cent of the combined company's equity through non-voting shares. The three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds account for 38.5 percentage points.

Their planned stakes are 15.1 per cent for Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, 12.8 per cent for the United Arab Emirates' L'imad Holding Company and 10.6 per cent for the Qatar Investment Authority.

Other foreign holdings comprise 5.8 per cent through limited partners in RedBird-managed funds and 5.2 per cent held by overseas owners of Paramount's Class B stock.

The FCC also granted advance approval for the approved foreign investors to hold up to 20 per cent each of Paramount's indirect equity in future. That approval does not set out terms for Musk.

Paramount originally secured $54bn in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, though subsequent permanent financing arrangements reduced the outstanding bridge commitments to $49bn.

Musk's possible contribution concerns equity instead, and no terms for his stake have emerged. Paramount aims to close the takeover in approximately two weeks, while discussions about whether to approach Musk remain at the consideration stage.