Larry Ellison Will Control Paramount After Skydance Merger

Larry Ellison Will Control Paramount After Skydance Merger - The New York Times

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Larry Ellison Will Control Paramount After Merger

An F.C.C. filing shows that companies affiliated with Mr. Ellison will own most of the voting interest currently held by Shari Redstone.

When the takeover of Paramount was announced in July, the Skydance founder David Ellison was introduced as the new mogul atop the parent company of CBS and MTV.

But a new document filed with the Federal Communications Commission indicates that his father — Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle — will be the real power behind the throne, replacing Shari Redstone as the company’s most influential shareholder.

The document, obtained by The New York Times, lists Larry Ellison at the top of an organizational chart of the companies that will acquire the majority of Paramount’s voting interest currently owned by Ms. Redstone.

The document, part of an application to the Federal Communications Commission to transfer control of Paramount’s TV stations, lays out the complex web of companies that will acquire Ms. Redstone’s controlling stake. Pinnacle Media, the Ellison family investment vehicle, will own 77.5 percent of the voting interest currently owned by Ms. Redstone, according to the document. The rest will go to an entity affiliated with RedBird Capital Partners, which backs Skydance.

Larry Ellison’s financial backing of his son’s $8 billion bid to take over Paramount has long been public. But his position in the corporate hierarchy had not been widely known.

“Maybe Larry Ellison will give David free rein,” said Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School. “Perhaps, Larry will call all the shots, or maybe just the big shots. We just don’t know. It seems, however, that Larry Ellison will have ultimate control.”

A spokeswoman for Skydance declined to comment. The company previously said David Ellison, Paramount’s incoming chief executive, would have operational control of Paramount after the merger. A spokesman for Oracle did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Larry Ellison, 80, has an estimated net worth of $155 billion, making him one of the world’s richest people. He has been a low-key player in Hollywood for years, having earlier supported Annapurna, his daughter Megan Ellison’s media company. He also made a cameo appearance in “Iron Man 2,” briefly appearing as himself.

According to the F.C.C. application, Sayonara LLC — a media company controlled by the Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust — will attain control of Paramount’s licensed television broadcast stations. Control of those stations, which rely on public airwaves, are scrutinized by government regulators. Larry Ellison is listed as the owner of that trust.

Larry Ellison has been a closely watched figure in tech and finance circles for years, but his control of a sprawling media empire could bring additional scrutiny. Though he has supported politicians of both parties over the years, he has recently backed Republican candidates, according to publicly available filings, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the majority leader.

Many details of the Ellison leadership team at Paramount are still shrouded in mystery. Though some key executives have been named, including David Ellison and Jeff Shell, the former chief executive of NBCUniversal, it is unclear whether they will retain the leaders currently running the company’s various business units.

The deal for Paramount represents the transfer of control from one family dynasty to another. Ms. Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, inherited her stake from her father, Sumner, who built the company through a series of deals at the end of the 20th century. Ms. Redstone’s relationship with her father was strained at times. David Ellison has said that he speaks to his father on a regular basis.

Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact Ben securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or email at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com. More about Benjamin Mullin

Lauren Hirsch covers Wall Street, including M&A, executive changes, board strife and policy moves affecting business. More about Lauren Hirsch

Lawrence J. Ellison,
Shari Redstone

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