{"id":102998,"date":"2025-12-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/12\/03\/paramount-has-gulf-sovereign-funds-backing-warner-bros-offer-variety-reports\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:00:00","slug":"paramount-has-gulf-sovereign-funds-backing-warner-bros-offer-variety-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2025\/12\/03\/paramount-has-gulf-sovereign-funds-backing-warner-bros-offer-variety-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount has Gulf sovereign funds backing Warner Bros. offer, Variety reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning<\/strong>. The Finance Ministry unveiled the spending plan for FY2026, as Vision 2030 is going into its third phase spanning the next five years. Spending on diversification efforts is expected to continue unfazed by oil volatility, but financing is set to shift away from capital-intensive construction projects to productive non-oil sectors including industry, AI and tourism. That means deficits are not going away at least until 2028, but at lower and lower levels as per the estimates.<\/p>\n

ALSO- <\/strong>Almasar saw a strong debut on Tadawul, closing up over 18% and bucking what has been a bruising year of muted main market IPOs. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Paramount\u2019s Warner Bros. offer has PIF, GCC backing? <\/strong>The latest offer from Paramount Skydance to fully acquire Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly backed by the Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, unnamed sources told Variety<\/a>. The offer is mostly backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, while GCC backing is below the threshold that requires foreign investment approval in the US, the sources added.<\/p>\n

Not the first time hearing of it<\/strong>: Ellison, who acquired Paramount this year for USD 8 bn, reportedly held preliminary and \u201cactive\u201d talks with the PIF and other Gulf investors to secure financing for a potential bid, the Financial Times reported last month<\/a>. Earlier reports by Variety on Gulf backing were denied by Paramount at the time.<\/p>\n

Fierce competition: <\/strong>Ellison\u2019s GCC-backed offer (if true) will reportedly be going up against offers from industry titans Netflix and Comcast. There\u2019s no word yet on details of the rival offers, but sources say Netflix is trying to sweeten the bid by pledging to honor Warner\u2019s agreements to distribute films in theaters in case its offer goes through.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- <\/strong>SNB taps global, Asian liquidity as local lenders extend their borrowing <\/strong>streak: <\/strong>Saudi National Bank (SNB) is reportedly lining up a USD 1 bn syndicated loan, mandating DBS Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) to quarterback the five-year facility, Bloomberg<\/a> reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The transaction is now being syndicated to a wider pool, including Asian lenders, as the kingdom\u2019s banks continue to raise cross-border funding to support the government\u2019s USD 2 tn agenda.<\/p>\n