Episode Details

Story of the Week (DR):

Netflix Backs Out of Bid for Warner Bros., Paving Way for an Ellison Takeover

Netflix CEO Sarandos visited White House right before streamer said WBD deal is off

Equity Holders

Public Investment Fund (PIF) Saudi Arabia ~$8 billion

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) Qatar ~$8 billion

L'imad Holding Company UAE (Abu Dhabi) ~$8 billion

Total Sovereign Equity Middle East Consortium ~$24 Billion

While these funds provide nearly 60% of the equity needed for the takeover, the deal is structured to prevent a "block" by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS):

Non-Voting Equity: The funds will hold "passive" stakes. This means they do not have board seats, voting rights, or direct say in daily operations.

The Ellison Safeguard: Tech billionaire Larry Ellison (Oracle) and his son David Ellison (Skydance) are the primary controllers of the voting power to maintain "American control" over sensitive assets like CNN and CBS News.

Neopbaby dropped out of USC film school in 2005

Jack Dorsey’s Block to Lay Off 40% of Its Workforce in AI Remake MM

Jack Dorsey's mea culpa after Block layoffs: 'We overhired'

Jack Dorsey struck an 'empathetic' tone as he laid off nearly half of Block

"I had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. I chose the latter."

C3.ai slashes 26% of staff as CEO admits failure to deliver and 'burning too much money'

Jamie Dimon says society should start preparing for AI job displacement: ‘Now’s the time to start thinking about’ it

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