Musk Reportedly Invests $1B in Skydance After Warner Bros. Takeover
Elon Musk has reportedly invested about $1 billion in Skydance, according to Semafor, less than three weeks after the media company closed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and took on roughly $80 billion of debt.
Elon Musk has reportedly invested about $1 billion in Skydance (SKYD), the media company led by David Ellison, according to a Semafor report published Thursday that cites people familiar with the matter. The investment was made around the same time as equity contributions from other Skydance investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, Semafor said. It comes less than three weeks after Skydance closed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which left the combined company with roughly $80 billion of debt. Skydance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.
What has and hasn't been reported
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Musk investment | About $1 billion | Semafor, citing people familiar with the matter |
| Other investors | Equity contributions from others, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, around the same time | Semafor, via TechCrunch |
| Terms | Structure, stake size and valuation not disclosed | TechCrunch, Barrett Media |
| Source of funds | Unclear whether the money comes from Musk personally, SpaceX or another entity | Barrett Media |
| Company comment | Skydance did not immediately respond | TechCrunch |
Semafor reported in September that Paramount was considering an equity investment from Musk. On Wednesday, John Malone said at the Paley International Council Summit in New York that a Skydance and SpaceX transaction is possible, with SpaceX investing roughly $8 billion to $10 billion as part of a broader arrangement. He called it a "big prediction" that could "take a little bit of the burden off David Ellison's shoulders." The reported $1 billion is well below that range.
The Warner Bros. Discovery deal
Skydance Corporation, formerly Paramount Skydance, completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6, and the combined company now trades as SKYD on the NYSE. According to the company's closing announcement, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders received $31.02 a share in cash, and $47 billion of new Class B equity was sold at $12.00 a share, led by the Ellison family, RedBird, the Public Investment Fund, L'IMAD, the Qatar Investment Authority and LionTree. Debt financing was led by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Combined revenue | Nearly $70 billion |
| Run-rate synergies target | At least $6 billion within three years |
| Net leverage target | 3.0x by the end of 2029 |
| Free cash flow target | More than $10 billion by 2030 |
| Pro forma long-term debt | About $80 billion, with $7.9 billion of cash (MarketBeat) |
| First-half 2026 interest expense | $3.1 billion (MarketBeat) |
The company has said the savings will come mainly from technology, integration and procurement, marketing and real estate. Ellison estimated leverage at 4.3 times, a figure that includes the $6 billion savings target, according to MarketBeat. Ellison is chairman and CEO, with Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. The combined portfolio includes CBS, CNN, HBO, Paramount+, HBO Max, MTV, Comedy Central and Food Network.
Musk and the Ellisons
Musk has close ties to David Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whom Musk appointed to Tesla's board in 2018. Larry Ellison put $1 billion into Musk's 2022 purchase of Twitter, according to TechCrunch.
Shares
SKYD was little changed on the report and is down about 41% this year, according to Stocktwits. The company is expected to report third-quarter results in early November.
Sources: Skydance's Oct. 6 closing announcement; Semafor reporting as relayed by TechCrunch, Barrett Media, RuntimeWire and Stocktwits (Oct. 22); MarketBeat (Oct. 7). The investment has not been confirmed by Skydance or Musk. This is informational, not a recommendation to buy or sell.
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