TIMELINE-Paramount's bid for Warner Bros Discovery gains Ellison's $40.4 bln backing

ReutersDec 22, 2025 1:37 PM

Dec 22 (Reuters) - Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has agreed to personally guarantee $40.4 billion of the equity financing for Paramount Skydance's PSKY.O bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O.

The move marks the latest chapter in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' iconic film and TV studio and its vast library of movies and television shows.

Here is a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company's latest breakup and potential sale.

Date	Event
1922	Time Inc was founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden to house Time magazine, a weekly news publication that made world affairs accessible to the average reader. The first issue of Time magazine was published in March 1923.
1923	Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with the introduction of synchronized sound in films.
1969	Kinney National Company, a conglomerate that later transitioned into media, buys Warner Bros-Seven Arts and later spins off its non-media businesses.
1972	HBO is founded by Charles Dolan with backing from Time. It was the first U.S. subscription-based cable network, offering uncut, commercial-free movies and live sports, pioneering premium cable television.
1990	Time Inc merges with Warner Communications in a $14 billion deal, hailed as a "marriage of content and distribution," creating Time Warner, then the largest media company in the world.
1996	Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting, gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast classic film library.
2000	Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL Time Warner, the largest merger in history at the time, aiming to merge traditional and digital media.
2002	AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as AOL's value collapses with the launch of an SEC investigation, prompted by allegations of accounting irregularities and inflated revenue reports at AOL.
2003	CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner.
2004	Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for $2.6 billion.
2009	Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner Cable, which had already been partially separated in 2007, ending its role in cable distribution.
2009	Time Warner spins off AOL.
2013	Time Warner spins off Time, its magazine division, which includes Time, People, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, marking its formal exit from publishing.
2016	AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner for $85 billion.
2018	AT&T completes its acquisition of Time Warner after regulator's approval, renaming it WarnerMedia.
2021	AT&T announces it would spin off WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a new standalone media company.
2022	WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their merger in a $43 billion deal.
June 2025	Warner Bros Discovery announces it would separate into two companies — one focusing on streaming and studios businesses, while the second will house its cable TV assets.
October 2025	Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects a Paramount Skydance offer of nearly $60 billion, or $24 per share, a source familiar with the matter exclusively tells Reuters. The company says it is weighing a potential sale amid interest from several suitors.
November 2025	Axios reports that Warner Bros Discovery's board wants Paramount Skydance to sweeten its bid to $30 per share, valuing the company at $74.34 billion.
November 2025	Warner Bros Discovery receives preliminary buyout bids from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix — who were asked to improve their offers.
December 2025	Warner Bros Discovery receives a second round of bids, including a mostly cash offer from Netflix.
December 2025	Paramount Skydance accuses Warner Bros Discovery of running an unfair sale process that favors Netflix over other bidders, CNBC reports, citing a letter sent by the newly merged media company.
December 2025	Netflix is in exclusive talks to buy Warner Bros Discovery's film and television studios along with its streaming assets after offering $28 per share.
December 2025	Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery's film and TV studios and streaming division for $72 billion, or $27.75 per share.
December 2025	Paramount Skydance makes a hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery in a deal valued at $108.4 billion or $30 per share.
December 2025	Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects Paramount Skydance's hostile $108.4 billion bid, saying it failed to provide adequate financing assurances.
December 2025	Paramount Skydance amends its offer to buy Warner Bros Discovery to include a $40.4 billion personal guarantee from Larry Ellison.

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