Hollywood blogs have long speculated that after the takeover of Paramount by Skydance, it would not be David Ellison but his father Larry Ellison who would take over the management position.
The New York Times now has documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission showing that Larry Ellison will indeed hold the real power and replace Shari Redstone as the company's most influential shareholder. The documents, according to the New York Times, list Larry Ellison at the top of an organisational chart of the companies that would acquire the majority of Paramount's voting shares currently owned by Ms Redstone.
The application to the Federal Communications Commission is necessary in order to transfer control of Paramount's television stations. Accordingly, Pinnacle Media, the Ellison family's investment vehicle, will own 77.5 per cent of the voting shares currently held by Shari Redstone and her National Amusements. The remainder will go to a company associated with RedBird Capital Partners, which supports Skydance.
However, it is unclear exactly what this means for Paramount's business. Analysts can well imagine that Larry Ellison, whose fortune is estimated at 155 billion dollars, will give his son a largely free hand. Of course, there are also scenarios in which David Ellison will primarily take care of the film studio's fortunes, while the Oracle founder will have a stronger influence on the channel strategy. Neither Skydance nor Oracle responded to requests for comment from the New York Times.
