David Ellison To Attend Donald Trump’s State Of The Union Address
#State of the Union#David Ellison#Paramount#Warner Bros. Discovery#Donald Trump#Lindsey Graham#Corporate Bid#Netflix Merger
📌 Key Takeaways
David Ellison will attend Trump's State of the Union as Sen. Graham's guest
Paramount's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery received encouraging news
The improved offer includes $31/share plus a ticking fee and substantial termination fees
WBD has not yet determined if the bid is superior to the Netflix agreement
📖 Full Retelling
Paramount CEO David Ellison will attend former President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday as a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), hours after receiving encouraging news regarding his bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been engaged in merger discussions with Netflix. Ellison posed with the senator in his office, both giving Trump's signature 'thumbs up' sign, though a Paramount spokesperson declined to comment on the arrangement. The timing of Ellison's attendance comes as Paramount has submitted a sweetened offer for WBD that the company has acknowledged could reasonably be expected to lead to a 'Company Superior Proposal' as defined in their merger agreement with Netflix. The improved bid includes an increased purchase price of $31 per share in cash, plus a daily ticking fee of $0.25 per quarter beginning after September 30, 2026. Additionally, the offer contains a $7 billion regulatory termination fee payable by Paramount if the transaction doesn't close due to regulatory roadblocks, and includes payment of the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD would owe to Netflix to terminate their existing deal. Despite this progress, the WBD board has not yet made a determination on whether Paramount's offer constitutes a superior proposal compared to the Netflix agreement, which remains in place as the company continues to navigate complex media industry consolidation.
🏷️ Themes
Media Industry Consolidation, Political Connections, Corporate Takeovers
Annual report by the president of the United States
The State of the Union address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation. The speech generally includes reports...
Lindsey Olin Graham ( GRAM; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 2019 to 2021. Graham previousl...
David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American media executive, film producer, and former actor, currently serving as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paramount Skydance since August 2025. He is the son of Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, a centibillionaire.
He founded ...
President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
Born into a wealthy New York City family, Trump graduated from the...
Paramount CEO David Ellison will be attending Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, hours after he received encouraging news over his bid for Warner Bros. Discovery . Per Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ellison will be his guest. Ellison posed with the senator in his office, each of them giving Trump’s signature “thumbs up sign.” A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. Earlier on Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount’s sweetened offer could reasonably be expected to lead to a so-called “Company Superior Proposal” as defined in WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix . Among other things, the new bid includes an increased purchase price of $31 a share in cash, plus a daily ticking fee of $0.25 per quarter beginning after September 30, 2026. It includes a $7 billion regulatory termination fee payable by Par if the transaction does not close due to regulatory roadblocks, payment by PSKY of the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD would be required to pay to Netflix to terminate its existing Netflix deal. The WBD board has not yet determined whether the bid is a superior one to the Netflix deal, which remains in place. Watch on Deadline Must Read Stories Hide Articles ‘Scream 7’ To Carve Out $60M In Global Debut, 2nd-Best Start For Franchise Disney Comms Chief Kristina Schake Exiting As CEO Josh D’Amaro Takes Over Sony Classics Buys World Rights To Turturro’s ‘Only Living Pickpocket In New York’ ‘Baylen Out Loud’ Star Defends Tourette’s Activist; BBC Edited Second Slur; More Read More About: Comments Subscribe to Deadline Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy. Sign Up No Comments Cancel reply Submit a comment Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong. Comment Name Email Website Δ
