Paramount Skydance Restructures Debt for Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
Variety • • business
Key Points:
- Paramount Skydance has restructured its debt financing for the proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, reducing its long-term debt commitments from $54 billion to $49 billion and eliminating a previously planned $3.5 billion revolving credit facility.
- The company increased its committed liquidity from $3.5 billion to $5 billion by amending its senior unsecured revolving credit facility in preparation for the merger’s closing.
- Paramount’s acquisition deal awaits regulatory approval and a shareholder vote scheduled for April 23, with significant equity investments from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds totaling nearly $24 billion.
- The debt restructuring involved syndicating bridge loan commitments across 18 banks to reduce exposure for Citi, BofA, and Apollo, and included new permanent financing such as a $5 billion Term Loan A and a $5 billion revolver.
- Andy Gordon, Paramount’s COO, emphasized that these financing milestones demonstrate strong confidence in the merger’s potential to create a leading media company that enhances competition and serves creative communities.
