After the merger with Paramount was announced in July, there were speculations that the Skydance founder, David Ellison, would be the new boss of the CBS and MTV parent company. However, a new document filed with the Federal Communications Commission revealed that his father, Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, would be the real kingpin and would replace Shari Redstone to take the controlling interest in the country.
According to the document filed with the FCC, Pinnacle Media, the Ellison family investment company, will own 77.5% of the voting interest in the company, which was previously owned by Ms. Redstone. The rest of the states will go to a RedBird Capital Partners’ affiliated entity, which backs Skydance in the deal.
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Everyone is aware of the fact that Larry Ellison funded his son’s $8 billion bid to take over Paramount. However, Larry’s role in the decision-making process is still relatively unknown. As pointed out by Brian Quinn, a professor at the Boston College Law School, “Maybe Larry Ellison will give David free rein. Perhaps Larry will call all the shots, or maybe just the big shots. We just don’t know. It seems, however, that Larry Ellison will have ultimate control.”
Larry Ellison, who is 80, has long been a closely watched figure in tech and finance circles. His involvement in the film industry, which is already shrouded in mystery, could attract additional scrutiny. Although the tech mogul has backed both parties over the years, his recent inclination has been to the Republican side and he has backed a few Republican candidates, including Senator of Kentucky, Rand Paul and the majority leader Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
