☕️Blockbuster LBO

Warner Bros board rejects what it called the largest LBO in history

January 08, 2026

Good morning.

The Warner Bros Discovery board unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance’s amended takeover offer as inadequate and inferior to its existing deal with Netflix struck in December. In a statement to shareholders published Wednesday, chair of the Warner Bros board, Samuel A. Di Piazza said that Paramount’s bid remains “inferior…across multiple key areas.”

The board’s letter to shareholders said the Paramount proposal would be “in effect…the largest leveraged buyout in history”, resulting in WBD taking on an “extraordinary amount of debt financing” from lenders including Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo.

ASX as at market close. Commodities and crypto in USD.

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Market movers

Shares in Lynas Rare Earths spiked Wednesday after China banned exports of rare earths and other dual-use goods to Japan, spotlighting Lynas’ role as a key non-China supplier.

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The quick sync

  • Elanor plans a 2026 reset after handing its property fund to Lederer and advancing a recap with Rockworth. (Capital Brief)

  • Economists say the RBA may still hike in February despite slowing inflation, citing persistent price pressures and credibility risks. (Capital Brief)

  • BlueScope’s $13b rebuff puts it in play as Trump’s tariffs arguably boost its value and raise bidding war risks. (Capital Brief)

  • Elon Musk faces new fight in Australia as eSafety probes Grok over ‘abhorrent’ deepfakes. (Capital Brief)

  • Musk’s Grok AI generated thousands of undressed images per hour on X. (Bloomberg)

A MESSAGE FROM BONDI RESPONSE

Australians Call for a Federal Royal Commission

A growing community is urging the Prime Minister to establish a Federal Royal Commission following the Bondi attack. This open letter calls for accountability, transparency and decisive action.

Read the letter and signatories: bondiresponse.com 

Trading floor

M&A

  • WiseTech teams up with Elm to digitize Saudi logistics. (Capital Brief)

  • StoreLocal bought a $150m storage portfolio to accelerate growth. (Capital Brief)

  • Apex Group to acquire Mercer Super’s admin business in Australia. (Capital Brief)

  • Southern Cross finalises Seven West merger; Seven CFO to retire. (Capital Brief)

  • BlueScope turns down $13b SGH-Steel Dynamics bid. (Capital Brief)

  • Warner Bros rejects Paramount bid, backs Netflix deal. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

  • xAI secured USD20b in new funding to grow its infrastructure and AI products. (Capital Brief)

  • Bellevue Gold maintained its FY26 output guidance despite a brief mine disruption. (Capital Brief)

  • HMC Capital won approval for a large wind farm in Victoria. (Capital Brief)

  • Qualcomm unveils cheaper chips to combat rising AI-driven laptop costs. (AFR)

  • West African Resources posted record gold production in 2025. (Capital Brief)

  • Magellan’s AUM dropped $300m in the December quarter. (Capital Brief)

  • Shein pushes on in Paris despite protests and legal challenges. (AFR)

  • Capricorn Metals is tracking in line with its FY26 guidance. (Capital Brief)

  • Inflation slowed to 3.4% in the year to November. (Capital Brief)

  • Linktree trims 2024 losses to $19m after cost cuts and growth. (AFR)

  • 4DMedical rallied after securing a US hospital deal. (Capital Brief)

  • Elon Musk’s AI platform Grok faces Australian probe over sexualised deepfakes. (Capital Brief)

  • Energy shares slid as oil prices fell on expectations of more Venezuelan crude reaching the US. (Capital Brief)

  • AustralianSuper raised executive and board pay by nearly 10% despite regulatory scrutiny over overcharging and slow insurance payouts. (AFR)

  • Economists caution RBA on persistent inflation despite slowdown. (Capital Brief)

  • JP Morgan cuts ties with proxy advisors, adopts AI voting platform. (Capital Brief) (WSJ)

  • US job openings fall to year-low in November. (Capital Brief)

  • Elanor eyes 2026 reset after losing fund to Lederer Group. (Capital Brief)

  • Anthropic is raising USD10b at $350b valuation. (WSJ)

  • Nike sells RTFKT a year after closing it, retreating from blockchain products. (Bloomberg)

  • Polymarket refuses to pay bets that US would ‘invade’ Venezuela. (FT)

VC 

  • None

People moves

  • Peter James is retiring as Macquarie Tech chair, to be succeeded by Lisa Brock. (Capital Brief)

  • Asia LNG buyers watch Woodside CEO succession closely. (AFR)

  • Vaxxas names ex-Merck exec David Peacock as CEO. (Capital Brief)

  • UBS 25-year Asia veteran departs ahead of new wave of job cuts. (Bloomberg)

☝️ Know about a deal or people move we don’t? Hit reply.

The watercooler