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Anytime you find yourself being mentioned in the same sentence Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, Chinese multinational technology conglomerate and holding companies, and Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, you’re likely in a bit of trouble.
And that’s exactly where Warner Bros. finds itself, as reports indicate that those are the financial backers behind Paramount’s hostile takeover of the company.
According to reports, Paramount’s hostile bid to take over Warner Bros. Discovery includes $24 billon from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, $1 billion from the Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent, and Jared Kusher’s private equity firm. Not exactly a holy trinity of financial and moral correctness.
Tencent, for example, is the world’s largest video game vendor, one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, and is among the largest social media, venture capital, and investment corporations. And now it wants a piece of one of America’s most iconic film studios.
The Middle East, a Chinese multinational technology conglomerate, and Jared Kusher are among the financial backers of Paramount’s hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
“The offer is backstopped with equity financing from the Ellison family and the private equity firm RedBird Capital as well as $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo Global Management, Paramount said in a news release.”
“A portion of the equity financing comes from outside Middle Eastern financing partners including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company PJSC, and the Qatar Investment Authority. Another portion derives from Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.” [via CNBC]
Paramount’s bid for WBD is backed in part by
– $24bn from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds
– $1bn from China’s Tencent
– Jared Kushner’s private equity firm pic.twitter.com/Kdt94WevPc— Lauren Hirsch (@LaurenSHirsch) December 8, 2025
Late last week, Netflix had announced that they had acquired Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal worth $82.7 billion (equity value of of $72.0 billion).
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, in a statement.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
While much of the media industry and its consumers were panicked by the idea of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros., the prospect of a Middle East/China/Kushner-backed Paramount purchase is actually far worse. President Trump has also suggested he’ll be getting himself involved in the deal, meaning things are likely to get shadier and more ridiculous before they become clearer.