The war for Warner Bros. Discovery has become a referendum on who gets to own Hollywood's future. On one side: Netflix, the streaming giant that has reshaped how the world watches content. On the other: a consortium that reads like a who's who of Gulf sovereign wealth and Trump-era dealmaking – Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's L'imad Holding, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, all backing David Ellison's Paramount Skydance.
The Gulf's $24 billion commitment, roughly 30% of the deal's equity, represents something analysts say they've rarely, if ever, seen: three sovereign wealth funds from rival states joining forces on a single hostile takeover.
The scale of capital required may have necessitated the alliance, but the target explains it. Warner Bros. Discovery owns HBO, DC Comics, CNN, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and a century of cinematic history. For Gulf states racing to build entertainment industries at home, this is the crown jewel.
The Players
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is the largest and most active of the three. PIF already took a majority stake in MBC Group in September – the MENA region's largest media company, which operates 13 free-to-air channels and the streaming platform Shahid, often called the Netflix of the Middle East. That same month, PIF led the consortium that agreed to acquire Electronic Arts for $55 billion, the largest leveraged buyout in history. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030, PIF has made entertainment and gaming central to Saudi Arabia's post-oil economic identity.
Qatar Investment Authority, one of the world's most established sovereign funds, has long invested in Western media and sports – from its ownership of Paris Saint-Germain to stakes in various entertainment ventures. The Warner deal would significantly expand its footprint in American content creation.
L'imad Holding Company is the wildcard. Few in the region had heard of it before this week…
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