United States antitrust suit, Oracle slump threaten Warner merger | JQJO

United States – Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s $40.4 billion personal equity guarantee for his son David’s bid to merge Paramount’s Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery is under acute pressure as regulators and markets turn against the proposed $110 billion deal. A coalition of 12 U.S. state attorneys general has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the transaction on antitrust grounds, arguing that combining two of Hollywood’s top five studios would restrict competition in theatrical film distribution and cable licensing, leading to fewer releases and higher prices for consumers. A federal judge has already suspended the merger until mid-August to consider the states’ request for a preliminary injunction, while Paramount has agreed not to close the deal until a court rules or until June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.

United States – The legal challenge coincides with a sharp collapse in Oracle’s share price, which has fallen roughly 34% in 2026 and nearly 50% since early June, hitting a new 52-week low of $114.75 on Friday. The sell-off has wiped out an estimated $213 billion from Ellison’s net worth, cutting his fortune from a peak near $388 billion to about $175 billion and pushing him from the world’s second-richest person to around eighth. Because Ellison’s $40.4 billion guarantee is anchored in his Oracle holdings, the market rout has weakened the financial backstop supporting the entire merger, as investors question whether Oracle’s heavy spending on artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure will deliver the returns needed to justify its current strategy.