Catenaa, Saturday, October 03, 2026- Wall Street traders expect Oracle CEO to bear the $52 billion debt of Paramount to help pay for its acquisition of Warner Bros.
According to Bloomberg News, investors assume that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison would support Paramount if it gets into financial trouble after the latest borrowing of $52 billion to acquire Warner Bros.
However, with Ellison family wealth tied to Oracle Shares, investors also worry the company would not be able to fund its own capital-intensive AI buildout by intervening to support Paramount.
Ellison’s son David is leading the Warner Bros. acquisition and has guaranteed roughly $47 billion of equity financing for the deal through a family trust.
David also made assurances to credit rating firms and investors that the Ellison family goes beyond to take steps to bring down the debt burden of Paramount and Warner Bros. post-merger, which could mean additional capital injected if needed.
“That makes Ellison’s ability to follow through on the pledge a key consideration for debtholders,” Bloomberg reported.
Portfolio manager at Wellington Management, Campe Goodman told Bloomberg that the cost to insure the debt of both companies against default has converged and is increasingly moving in lock-step, a sign investors are beginning to treat the two credits as intertwined.
He said that it’s another factor lenders need to consider when assessing the mounting debt and execution risk of the firms.
“You have to consider your total Larry Ellison risk,” Goodman told Bloomberg, adding that investors should regard Oracle and Paramount as related bets rather than completely separate credits. “You probably want to consider your exposure to both.”
Just a year ago, Oracle’s shares soared to a record amid surging AI optimism, briefly making him the world’s richest person.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, since Ellison briefly held the title of world’s richest man when Oracle stocks surged to a record high last year, Ellison’s fortune has plummeted by almost $200 billion, more than any other person on the globe.
The report said that Ellison is now worth roughly $192 billion, enough to place him among the 10 richest people.
Bloomberg reported last month that Ellison went back on his plan to sell billions of dollars worth of stock in Oracle, in which he still owns a roughly 40% stake.
He also disclosed he had increased the number of shares pledged as collateral for his personal loans.
