The scoop
Elon Musk has invested about $1 billion in Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter, providing a much-needed financial injection as the company seeks to cut costs and strengthen its stock price.
The deal closed around the same time as stock investments from other Skydance investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, the sources said. Semafor reported in September that Paramount was considering seeking an equity infusion from Musk.
Musk has publicly praised the Ellisons and Skydance, sparking speculation about a broader partnership between Musk’s low-Earth orbit satellite network, Starlink, and Skydance.
“He’s going to have to rethink all these channels and figure out how they transform themselves into streams rather than just traditional linear,” billionaire cable executive John Malone said Tuesday. “I think there’s a deal coming,” Malone also said during his appearance at the Paley Center.
“Who helped Elon fund Twitter when he bought it? Larry Ellison,” Malone said. “How did Larry Ellison find some of the money to invest in the creation of Skydance? Tesla stock. And I have no doubt for a minute that you’re going to see an announcement in a very long time.”
In fact, a deal was already made. Ellison, who poached Ynon Kreiz from Mattel to become co-CEO, could use Musk’s capital to support the company’s technology and cost-cutting efforts.
“We’re building a real product and tech team,” Ellison said in an interview with CNBC earlier this month. “We are convinced that artificial intelligence is a tool for artists, and not the other way around.”
Musk and Paramount did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Musk was among a number of wealthy individuals that Paramount CEO David Ellison considered working with for an investment.
Musk and David Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, have long been close, and it was the elder Ellison’s money – and connections – in part that made the Warner Bros. takeover possible. Larry Ellison personally guaranteed more than $40 billion in equity financing for the Warner Bros. acquisition.
Larry Ellison invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 deal to take X, formerly Twitter, private. He also invested in Tesla in 2018 and served on the company’s board of directors for years.
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