Paramount Skydance has secured nearly $24 billion in funding from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi to advance its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is contributing approximately $10 billion, with the remaining amount split between state-linked funds from Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The deal, valued at an enterprise price of $111 billion, requires regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026. Warner Bros. Discovery has scheduled a special shareholder vote on the transaction for April 23.
U.S. antitrust officials have signalled delays, with Acting Head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, Omeed Assefi, stating the deal will "absolutely not" be fast-tracked, citing political concerns tied to the Ellison family's connections to former President Trump. In December, Tencent initially exited the financing due to WBD board concerns over foreign ownership but reportedly rejoined the deal with new funding, according to Bloomberg News. Seven Democratic senators urged the FCC to scrutinize the foreign investors, while Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal questioned why the Treasury Department had not initiated a CFIUS national security review. David Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has committed up to $46.7 billion, though Middle Eastern funding will reduce his required equity stake.
The most striking element of this deal is the scale of Middle Eastern capital now poised to shape a major American media empire, with Saudi Arabia's PIF alone injecting $10 billion—more than any single private investor. This isn't just a corporate takeover; it's a geopolitical realignment of soft power, where sovereign wealth from Gulf states flows into Hollywood's core infrastructure. The fact that these funds collectively supply nearly a quarter of the financing underscores a quiet but profound shift in global media ownership.
Behind the financial mechanics lies a web of political sensitivities. The U.S. antitrust division's refusal to fast-track approval, citing the Ellison family's Trump ties, reveals how domestic political affiliations are entangled with foreign investment scrutiny. Yet, the same level of alarm isn't being directed at Middle Eastern state-backed funds, despite Democratic senators raising concerns about national security oversight. The argument that each fund holds "far less" than 25%—and thus avoids mandatory CFIUS review—feels increasingly thin given the collective influence they wield.
For ordinary Nigerians, this story is a mirror reflecting how global capital moves with agility and access that local economies can only watch. While Lagos filmmakers struggle for $500,000 budgets, Gulf sovereign funds deploy billions to own the machinery of global storytelling. The implications are cultural: the narratives shaping worldviews are increasingly funded by authoritarian-adjacent regimes with their own agendas.
This fits a broader pattern: African and Global South audiences consume media whose ownership is quietly consolidating under non-democratic state capital. From sports to entertainment, Gulf money is buying influence far beyond its borders—reshaping culture, one acquisition at a time.
