David Ellison reportedly eyes Elon Musk for Paramount equity investment sparking fears at CNN: Really scary
Paramount executives reportedly have discussed asking billionaire Elon Musk to take an equity stake in its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros.Discovery – a move that could fuel the burgeoning panic among CNN staffers.Hollywood mogul David Ellison is looking to build up his media empire’s finances ahead of the mega merger, and has been mulling over several wealthy individuals who could back the deal, according to a Semafor report.
The size of the investment that Paramount is seeking is unclear.His father, Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, is currently on the hook for more than $40 billion of the equity financing supporting the acquisition, and a contribution from Musk – a close friend – could help reduce the burden, the report said. An investment from Musk could incite uproar at left-leaning CNN, where staffers are already in a panic about potential layoffs and who will be in charge of the network once David Ellison takes over, sources told The Post.“Amazing it comes out now of course,” the CNN source said of the Musk news – adding that it’s a bad look for California Gov.Gavin Newsom, who backed the deal as he feared Paramount could exit the state and take thousands of jobs with it.
“Not good for Gavin!”As part of its settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Paramount pledged to create independent editorial boards for both CBS News and CNN – though it hasn’t shared details on what powers these boards will have.Layoffs weren’t addressed in detail by the California settlement — and employees at both companies fear a bloodbath in the months ahead.“When it rains…[it pours],” one CNN source said of the Musk news.“It’s really scary given what he did at X and DOGE.”Paramount declined to comment.At CBS News, Bari Weiss – who was made editor-in-chief by David after his company Skydance acquired Paramount – has faced serious blowback for axing longtime “60 Minutes” correspondents and her oversight of...