Paramount Skydance disclosed Tuesday in an SEC filing that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's L'Imad Capital, and Qatar Investment Authority have committed approximately $24 billion in financing for its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The commitments formalize weeks of quiet negotiations and represent the largest Gulf participation in U.S. media infrastructure since MBC's failed $7 billion bid for Viacom assets in 2019.
The deal structure places David Ellison's Skydance at the center of a $110 billion enterprise spanning Paramount's legacy studio and broadcast assets, Warner Bros.' film library, HBO Max's 95 million subscribers, and Discovery's 24 factual-entertainment networks across 220 territories. The three Gulf funds are providing senior secured debt with warrants convertible at a 12% discount to the trailing 30-day volume-weighted average price, according to people familiar with the terms. PIF is allocating roughly $12 billion, Qatar $7 billion, and L'Imad $5 billion. The funds gain board observation rights but no operational voting control, a structure consistent with their passive stakes in Endeavor and Live Nation.
The commitment matters because it confirms three things single-family offices and heritage luxury brands need to watch. First, Gulf capital is now underwriting the reconfiguration of American premium content distribution at a scale previously reserved for telecom mergers. PIF's participation follows its $45 billion commitment to SoftBank's Vision Fund and its $3.5 billion Newcastle United purchase, but this is its first senior position in a top-four U.S. studio. Second, the structure bypasses CFIUS complications by keeping Gulf funds in the capital stack without governance rights—a template that will likely reappear in hospitality and real-estate deals where foreign pension funds want yield without regulatory theater. Third, the combined entity will control roughly 38% of U.S. premium scripted output and 51% of international factual programming, which means luxury travel advertisers will negotiate with one buyer for placement across HBO, Paramount+, Discovery+, and CNN's travel verticals.
Operators should track three events over the next 90 days. First, whether Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav remains in a co-leadership role or exits with his $246 million contract buyout, which determines how aggressively the combined entity consolidates its 17 streaming apps into a unified platform. Second, whether the merged company offloads Warner Bros.' 4,000-title film library to a third party—Netflix, Apple, or a private-equity rollup—to reduce the $48 billion pro forma debt load. Third, whether PIF uses its observation rights to push for Middle East production hubs, following its playbook with Endeavor's UFC, which now stages 4 annual events in Riyadh.
The deal is expected to close in Q3 2025, subject to DOJ antitrust review and FCC approval for broadcast-license transfers. Paramount's $28.50 share price Tuesday suggests the market is pricing in a 15% probability of regulatory block.