Musk pumps $1bn into Skydance as company seeks cost savings

Elon Musk has made an investment of roughly $1 billion in Skydance, according to a person familiar with the matter, CNBC reports.

The financial injection comes as the company looks to cut costs following Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed on October 6, with the combined entity named Skydance. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz are now tasked with merging Paramount and Warner Bros.’ film studios, as well as streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, alongside a host of corporate functions supporting the company’s TV networks and two news divisions.

Skydance has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings over three years, though it carries a debt burden of nearly $80 billion.

Musk’s investment is reportedly part of a wider push by Skydance to raise equity funding, according to Semafor, which first reported the development.

Representatives for Musk and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and shares of Skydance were down about 1% on Thursday.

Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has a history with Musk, having invested $1 billion in his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now X, and previously served on Tesla’s board after investing in the company in 2018.

The elder Ellison also personally guaranteed more than $40 billion in equity financing for Paramount’s takeover of WBD.