Musk invests $1 bn in David Ellison's Skydance; here's how his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, figures in deal
Elon Musk has invested around $1 billion in Skydance Corp., the media and entertainment company led by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, according to a Semafor report.
The investment comes as Skydance navigates the financial challenges following its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and reportedly coincided with fresh equity contributions from other investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs.
Semafor cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. Skydance declined to comment, while a representative for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
News of the investment initially sent Skydance shares higher, but the stock subsequently reversed its gains. It was trading 1.7% lower at 12:46 pm in New York.
The reported investment follows speculation about Musk's possible entry into Skydance earlier this week by billionaire media investor John Malone.
Speaking at the Paley International Council Summit in New York on Wednesday, Malone pointed to the close relationship between Musk and David Ellison's father, Larry.
“Who helped Elon finance Twitter when he bought it? Larry Ellison,” Malone said at the event. “How did Larry Ellison come up with some of the money to put into the creation of Skydance? Tesla stock. And I would not doubt for a minute that before very long you're gonna see an announcement.”
Malone had suggested that Musk's potential investment could be in the range of $8 billion to $10 billion, considerably higher than the approximately $1 billion reported by Semafor.
Larry Ellison had previously backed Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, and also contributed financially to the creation of Skydance. Malone's remarks highlighted the financial connections between the two billionaires and the media company's leadership.
Musk's reported investment comes shortly after Skydance completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, HBO and several other media and entertainment businesses, earlier this month.
The transaction brought major media properties under David Ellison's leadership. However, Skydance shares have come under pressure since the deal closed, amid investor concerns over the combined company's total debt of nearly $87 billion.
To address its financial obligations and improve its cost structure, Skydance has committed to reducing expenses by $6 billion over the next three years.
Musk's reported investment could provide additional financial support as the company works through the challenges arising from the acquisition.
Beyond the financial implications, Musk's reported entry into Skydance could have wider consequences for the media industry.
The billionaire, who is the world's richest person, has close ties with US President Donald Trump and frequently weighs in on debates surrounding free speech, media coverage and political influence.
Through Warner Bros. Discovery, Skydance now controls prominent news organisations such as CNN and CBS. Both networks have faced concerns over potential political influence, although David Ellison has maintained that their editorial independence will be protected.
The development also creates another business connection between Musk and Larry Ellison. Musk owns X, one of the world's major social media platforms, while Oracle has an ownership stake in TikTok's US operations.
The reported investment also offers Musk an entry point into Hollywood. Skydance's entertainment business has a portfolio spanning films, television productions, live sports and other content, giving the billionaire exposure to a wider segment of the media and entertainment industry.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X
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