Movies
‘12th Fail’ and ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ dominate this week’s IMDb popular Indian celebrities list
Mumbai: On this week’s IMDb popular Indian celebrities list, Medha Shankar, the female lead of 12th Fail, has secured the second position for her portrayal of IRS Officer Shraddha Joshi. Vikrant Massey, essaying the role of IPS Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, has claimed the fourth spot, and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the film’s director, has secured the fifth rank.
The cast and crew of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan have also made it to the list, with Ananya Panday, Adarsh Gourav, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and the movie’s director Arjun Varain Singh grabbing the ninth, 18th, 26th, and 36th spots, respectively. Deepika Padukone has topped the list, while Shah Rukh Khan, Triptii Dimri, Alia Bhatt, Nayanthara, and Aamir Khan are placed in the third, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth positions on this week’s rankings.
The popular Indian celebrities feature, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, highlights the top trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week. This is based on more than 200 million monthly visits to IMDb worldwide. Entertainment fans can see who is trending every week, follow their favourite entertainers, and discover new breakout talent.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
