Hollywood
‘Siddharth’ wins top award at Beijing, Wong Kar-Wai takes the cake
NEW DELHI: India-shot Canadian film Siddharth by Richie Mehta has won the top prize at the Tiantan Award ceremony held during the closing of the fourth Beijing International Film Festival.
This is the second feature by Mehta, about a father’s search for his son who has gone missing, that has won the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the second edition of the festival’s competition section.
The award was presented by jury president John Woo and director Feng Xiaogang.
However, renowned Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster won five awards, three for ‘Best Director,’ ‘Best Actress’ (Zhang Ziyi) and ‘Best Cinematography’ (Philippe Le Sourd). This is the tenth time the actress has won for her role as a martial artist seeking revenge for the death of her father.
Adding to France’s success at the ceremony, French comedy Attila Marcel picked up two awards: ‘Best Actor’ (Guillaume Gouix) and ‘Best Score.’
Peter Chan’s American Dreams in China won ‘Best Screenplay,’ child actor Lee Re won ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Lee Joon-ik’s Hope, Alan Rickman won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for A Promise and Australia’s The Rocket won Best Special Effects.
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.
