{"id":73339,"date":"2026-10-20T20:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T00:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/larry-ellisons-58b-leverage-for-wbd-deal-nvidia-eyes-firmus-investment\/73339\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T20:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T00:38:13","slug":"larry-ellisons-58b-leverage-for-wbd-deal-nvidia-eyes-firmus-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/larry-ellisons-58b-leverage-for-wbd-deal-nvidia-eyes-firmus-investment\/73339\/","title":{"rendered":"Larry Ellison\u2019s $58B Leverage for WBD Deal; Nvidia Eyes Firmus Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Larry Ellison<\/strong> has pledged <strong>413 million Oracle shares<\/strong> worth approximately <strong>$58 billion<\/strong> as collateral for personal loans, a significant increase from 346 million shares a year ago.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> is reportedly in talks to invest <strong>hundreds of millions of dollars<\/strong> in Australian AI cloud provider <strong>Firmus<\/strong> after the startup scrapped its <strong>$5 billion IPO<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>UK median pay awards<\/strong> edged up to <strong>3.1%<\/strong> in the three months to September, though analysts see little sign of a significant shift in long-term wage trends.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Ellison family<\/strong> finalized a <strong>$111 billion acquisition<\/strong> of <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery (<a href=\"\/stock\/WBD\">WBD<\/a>)<\/strong> on October 6, 2026, consolidating major media assets under the new <strong>Skydance Corp<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Rising employer <strong>social security contributions<\/strong> and <strong>minimum wage hikes<\/strong> are expected to keep UK pay awards capped at roughly <strong>3% through 2027<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ellison Leverages Oracle Fortune for Media Mega-Merger<\/h2>\n<p>Oracle (<a href=\"\/stock\/ORCL\">ORCL<\/a>) co-founder <strong>Larry Ellison<\/strong> has significantly increased his personal borrowing to finance his son David Ellison\u2019s takeover of <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery (<a href=\"\/stock\/WBD\">WBD<\/a>)<\/strong>. According to recent regulatory filings, Ellison has pledged <strong>413 million shares<\/strong> of Oracle\u2014valued at roughly <strong>$58 billion<\/strong>\u2014to back personal indebtedness. This represents a nearly <strong>20% increase<\/strong> in pledged shares compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>The borrowing spree allowed Ellison to avoid selling approximately <strong>$7.5 billion<\/strong> in stock, a plan he scrapped in September to prevent triggering substantial taxable gains. The funds were utilized to backstop the <strong>$111 billion<\/strong> merger between <strong>Paramount Skydance<\/strong> and <strong>Warner Bros. Discovery<\/strong>, which was completed on October 6. Ellison\u2019s collateral pool also includes shares in <strong>Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>)<\/strong>, <strong>SpaceX<\/strong>, and <strong>Paramount<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Nvidia Targets Firmus Following IPO Withdrawal<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> is in discussions to inject <strong>hundreds of millions of dollars<\/strong> into <strong>Firmus<\/strong>, a Sydney-based AI cloud service provider. The move comes shortly after Firmus abandoned plans for a <strong>$5 billion initial public offering<\/strong> on the Australian Securities Exchange. The startup cited market volatility and investor skepticism regarding high AI valuations as primary reasons for shelving the listing.<\/p>\n<p>The potential investment underscores <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a>&#39;s strategy of supporting &quot;neocloud&quot; providers\u2014specialized firms that build data centers specifically for AI workloads. Firmus currently operates &quot;AI factories&quot; in <strong>Melbourne<\/strong> and <strong>Singapore<\/strong> and is seeking private capital to fund the purchase of additional <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> GPUs. Reports suggest the deal may include <strong>credit support<\/strong> and <strong>revenue-sharing<\/strong> agreements similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a>&#39;s other infrastructure partnerships.<\/p>\n<h2>UK Wage Growth Remains Stable Amid Cost Pressures<\/h2>\n<p>Data from human resources firm <strong>Brightmine<\/strong> shows that UK median pay awards rose slightly to <strong>3.1%<\/strong> in the quarter ending September, up from <strong>3.0%<\/strong> in the previous two periods. Despite the uptick, the majority of recent pay deals did not exceed those granted a year earlier. The data suggests that while wage growth is resilient, it remains well below the peaks seen during the height of the recent inflationary cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Employers are reportedly facing mounting budget constraints due to higher <strong>social security contributions<\/strong> and an upcoming increase in the <strong>statutory minimum wage<\/strong>. Brightmine\u2019s analysis of 42 settlements covering <strong>650,000 employees<\/strong> indicates that pay awards are likely to remain subdued, with a forecast of <strong>3% growth through 2027<\/strong>. This stability may influence the <strong>Bank of England&#39;s<\/strong> upcoming interest rate decisions as it monitors private-sector wage pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Larry Ellison has pledged 413 million Oracle shares worth approximately $58 billion as collateral for personal loans, a 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