On Sept. 30, 2026, US film studio Paramount Skydance finished lining up $52 billion in new borrowing to help pay for its roughly $110 billion purchase of US media company Warner Bros. Discovery. Cloud company Oracle, meanwhile, has nearly doubled its long-term debt over the past two years to more than $160 billion as it remakes itself into a seller of AI computing power. Together the two companies' debt comes to roughly $247 billion, but Oracle's current long-term debt and the estimate of Paramount's total debt after the deal cover different dates and different scopes, and both are floors reported as \"more than.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A film studio's acquisition debt and an AI company's equipment debt look unrelated. But some fund managers and analysts quoted by Bloomberg say the two should be viewed as one bundle. The reason: the same person stands behind both, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, 82.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oracle, with more than $160 billion in long-term debt, is the fifth-largest borrower in the US corporate bond market by a Bloomberg bond index. For this deal Paramount raised $30 billion in investment-grade bonds, $12.4 billion in junk bonds (bonds with low credit ratings that pay higher interest) and $9.46 billion in loans. One credit research firm estimates that after the deal, Paramount's total debt, counting both investment-grade and speculative-grade borrowing, will top $87 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two figures add up to $247 billion, or about KRW 333 trillion at the Oct. 2, 2026 exchange rate (KRW 1,350.60 per dollar). But they cover different dates and scopes, and both are floors. Put simply, this is not an exact total but a way to gauge how big the two companies' debts are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Credit ratings have come down, too. In July 2026, credit rating firm S&P cut Oracle to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade rating, and in September it cut Paramount to BB, two notches lower and in speculative (junk) territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of Sept. 21, 2026, Ellison was Oracle's largest shareholder, with 1,158.38 million shares, or a 38.2% stake. Paramount is run by his son, David Ellison. In this deal, an Ellison family trust guaranteed a substantial part of the roughly $47 billion being put in as equity (money paid in for shares rather than borrowed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ellison family promised to take every step needed to bring down the debt load after the deal. Credit rating firms and investors took this as an unspoken promise to put in more money if needed. Moody's, too, pointed to the Ellison family's considerable wealth and its stated commitment to cutting debt when it gave Paramount's new bonds a speculative-grade rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The catch is that much of the Ellison family's wealth is Oracle stock. Oracle shares have fallen more than 50% over the past year. Ellison's net worth is nearly $200 billion lower than about a year ago, when Oracle stock hit a record high and he briefly became the world's richest person; as of an Oct. 3, 2026 report, it stood at about $192 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shares he has pledged have grown, too. As of Sept. 21, 2026, Ellison had pledged 413 million Oracle shares as collateral for personal loans. That is 67 million shares (about 19%) more than the 346 million a year earlier, and about 36% of the Oracle shares he owns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Separately, on Sept. 12, 2026, Ellison canceled a previously disclosed plan to sell up to 50 million shares (about $7.5 billion). The company said he has no other plans to sell, but gave no reason for the cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oracle's board said the pledged shares secure term loans used for private business outside the company, are not collateral for margin trading (buying stock with money borrowed from a broker), and that Ellison can repay without the pledged shares. On that basis, the board's governance committee concluded the pledge poses no material risk to the company or its shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to fund managers, the two companies' credit default swaps (CDS, the price of insurance against a company failing to repay its debt) have grown closer and increasingly move in the same direction. Their reading is that investors have begun treating the two companies' debt as one tangled whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fund manager at US asset manager Wellington said, \"You have to consider your total Larry Ellison risk.\" An S&P analyst said that if Paramount performs poorly and Oracle stock also falls sharply, the market could question the Ellison family's ability to support Paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The risk can run the other way, too. A fund manager at US firm GW&K said that if the merger doesn't go as planned, the Ellison family's support could tie the two companies' bonds together more tightly than current prices reflect. That would help Paramount's weaker bonds and add risk for Oracle's bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a precedent. At its 2022 merger, Warner Bros. Discovery also set out a similar plan to cut costs after the deal and pay down debt. But in 2025, while the company was weighing a split, Moody's cut its unsecured bond rating from Baa3, investment grade, to Ba1, speculative grade. Analysts at one credit research firm wrote that media megamergers have a dismal track record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Borrowing terms have also worsened this time. While the deal's closing dragged on, the 10-year US Treasury yield rose to its highest since 2007. People familiar with the deal said Paramount could pay up to $500 million more in interest each year than in May, when the debt sale looked imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David Ellison has set a goal of $6 billion in annual cost savings within three years. The difference from the Warner deal is that this time one of the world's 10 richest people stands behind it. But much of that person's wealth is Oracle stock, whose price has fallen more than 50% over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Credit rating firms and investors see the Ellison family's promise as an unspoken commitment to put more money into Paramount's debt if needed. Yet much of that family's wealth is Oracle stock. In effect, AI investment debt and a studio's acquisition debt have become linked through one person's finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a new variable for Oracle shareholders too. Until now, Oracle's stock price has been a tug-of-war between cloud growth and the debt burden. Now some bond investors say Oracle's risk should also include how much support the Ellison family may need to give if Paramount stumbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a yardstick. If Paramount's CDS rises on days Oracle stock falls, the market may be pricing both companies as one man's debt. If Paramount's CDS doesn't come down even as Oracle stock recovers, the center of the worry may be the merger itself rather than Ellison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources Glossary<\/strong> BITPRESS articles are information to help your investment decisions, not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock or coin. Investment decisions and their results are your own responsibility.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \ud30c\ub77c\ub9c8\uc6b4\ud2b8 520\uc5b5 \ub2ec\ub7ec \ucc28\uc785 \ub4a4\uc5d0\ub294 \uc5d8\ub9ac\uc2a8 \uc77c\uac00\uc758 \uc57d\uc18d\uc774 \uc788\uace0, \uc2e0\uc6a9\ud3c9\uac00\uc0ac\uc640 \ud22c\uc790\uc790\ub294 \uc774\ub97c \uc554\ubb35\uc801 \ucd94\uac00 \ucd9c\uc790 \uc57d\uc18d\uc73c\ub85c \ubcf8\ub2e4. \uadf8\ub7f0\ub370 \uadf8 \uc7ac\uc0b0\uc758 \uc0c1\ub2f9 \ubd80\ubd84\uc774 \uc9c0\ub09c 1\ub144\uac04 50% \ub118\uac8c \ube60\uc9c4 \uc624\ub77c\ud074 \uc8fc\uc2dd\uc774\uace0, \uc5d8\ub9ac\uc2a8\uc740 \uac00\uc9c4 \uc624\ub77c\ud074 \uc8fc\uc2dd\uc758 \uc57d 36%\ub97c \uac1c\uc778 \ub300\ucd9c \ub2f4\ubcf4\ub85c \uc7a1\ud614\ub2e4.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"bitpress_en_title":"","bitpress_en_desc":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[888,887,1042,1044,1040,1043,791,1041,199,885],"class_list":["post-3842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-it-business","tag-ai","tag-cds","tag-1042","tag-1044","tag-1040","tag-1043","tag-791","tag-1041","tag-199","tag-885"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/larry-ellison-risk-exposed-paramount-130000159.html<\/a>
https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-10-03\/larry-ellison-risk-exposed-by-paramount-and-oracle-debt-binges<\/a>
https:\/\/www.newspim.com\/news\/view\/20260930000141<\/a>
https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/0001341439\/000119312526402816\/orcl-20260925.htm<\/a>
https:\/\/www.stocktitan.net\/sec-filings\/ORCL\/def-14a-oracle-corp-definitive-proxy-statement-79178c066627.html<\/a>
https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/09\/13\/larry-ellison-cancels-7-5-billion-sale-of-oracle-stock\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/09\/12\/larry-ellison-nixes-plan-to-offload-up-to-7point5-billion-worth-of-oracle-stock-.html<\/a>
https:\/\/www.snmnews.com\/news\/articleView.html?idxno=575456<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Credit default swap (CDS)<\/strong> \u2014 The price of insurance that covers losses if a company can't repay its debt; the higher it goes, the more default risk the market sees in that company.
Junk bonds<\/strong> \u2014 A bond rated below investment grade (BBB- or above), which carries a higher risk of not being repaid but pays more interest in return.
Investment grade<\/strong> \u2014 A rating that credit rating firms give borrowers they consider well able to repay; at S&P, that means BBB- or higher.
Stock-backed loan<\/strong> \u2014 Borrowing money by pledging shares you own as collateral; if the stock price falls, the value of that collateral shrinks too.
Margin trading<\/strong> \u2014 Buying stock with money borrowed from a brokerage; if the price falls, the brokerage can sell the shares to get its money back.
Credit ratings (S&P, Moody's)<\/strong> \u2014 Grades that firms such as S&P and Moody's give a borrower's ability to repay. S&P's BBB- and Moody's Baa3 are the lowest investment-grade steps; BB and Ba1 are just below, in junk territory.
Pledged shares<\/strong> \u2014 Shares an owner hands over as collateral for a loan. The owner keeps them, but the lender can claim them if the loan isn't repaid.
Family trust<\/strong> \u2014 A legal arrangement that holds and manages a family's assets; here, an Ellison family trust guaranteed part of the deal's funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n