<p>(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)</p>
<p>By Peter Thal Larsen</p>
<p>LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Welcome back! It’s been a mixed week for the Ellison family. Son David launched a bid for Warner Bros Discovery  (WBD.O)  while shares in Oracle  (ORCL.N) , run by his father Larry, plunged due to fears about overinvestment in data centres. Are the clan’s fortunes waxing or waning? Email me with your thoughts. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday.</p>
<h3>OPENING LINE</h3>
<p>“Imagine data centers … in space! That’s the pitch as SpaceX prepares to launch itself onto public markets in 2026.” Read more: SpaceX $1 trln IPO would rely on psychedelic blast.</p>
<h3>FIVE THINGS I LEARNED FROM BREAKINGVIEWS THIS WEEK</h3>
<ol>
<li>Derivatives markets put the chances of U.S. interest rates rising next year at 0%.</li>
<li>The U.S. needs as much  by 2030 as is produced by wind power globally.</li>
<li>Amazon’s  (AMZN.O)  150-page results filing mentioned AI startup Anthropic, source of a $9.5 billion , just nine times.</li>
<li>The median age of a company  has increased 37% since the 1980s.</li>
<li>IndiGo is India’s only .</li>
</ol>
<h3>WARNER’S WARNING FROM HISTORY</h3>
<p>There’s nothing like a takeover of Warner Brothers to spark a flashback. I vividly remember the moment in January 2000 when news of America Online’s $180 billion acquisition of Time Warner, then the Hollywood movie studio’s owner, flashed across the wire. The dotcom bubble was fully inflated, and the sight of an internet startup swallowing one of the world’s largest news and entertainment companies exemplified that era’s upside-down business logic. Two-and-a-half decades and multiple changes of ownership later, it’s hard to be as starry-eyed about the latest bidding war for the storied media property, which now sits inside Warner Bros Discovery. Yet several lessons stand out. The first is the enduring value of movies, television shows and the rest of what media executives insist on calling “content”. The industry is locked in a never-ending debate about whether value rests in programming or the pipes through which it flows. AOL’s promise of beaming media to customers of its dial-up email service was preposterous, and soon fizzled. Subsequent owner AT&amp;T  (T.N) , which fought the first Trump administration for the right to buy Warner and won in 2018, also learned the hard way that synergies with broadband networks are elusive. Netflix (NFLX.O) , which has built a $430 billion juggernaut and produced its own programming without owning a studio, might seem to make a strong case that control of eyeballs is decisive. Even so, it is plonking down $83 billion including debt for Warner’s film unit and streaming rival HBO. The second lesson is that media companies can access vast amounts of debt. Netflix is borrowing $59 billion to finance its offer, half of which will come from Wells Fargo  (WFC.N) . Rejected rival bidder Paramount, which has nonetheless lobbed in a $108 billion offer for Warner’s parent company, including cable networks like CNN, will have total debt of more than six times the companies’ combined EBITDA if the deal goes ahead. Eager bankers may want to read up on French water group Vivendi’s leveraged takeover of Universal back in 2000. Spoiler alert: it did not end well. The third lesson is that there is an apparently never-ending supply of overseas investors ready to be seduced by the idea of owning American entertainment brands. Vivendi’s Jean-Marie Messier was one; Japanese electronics brand Sony was another. Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda also dabbled in the movie business. This time, the money is coming from the Gulf. Sovereign funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are putting up $24 billion of equity in support of Paramount’s offer. To overcome foreign ownership scrutiny, they are waiving their governance rights. Given the history, that’s brave. The final lesson is that Hollywood insiders always come off best. Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav exemplifies the trend. By one estimate he pocketed almost $900 million in salary and bonuses between 2008 and 2024, and will enjoy another windfall whoever wins. Though he can claim credit for stirring up an impressive auction, the total return for shareholders since Discovery absorbed Warner in 2021 is still negative. It’s a story as old as Tinseltown. Stand by for the sequel.</p>
<p>CHART OF THE WEEK The Indian economy is something of a paradox. Ranked fifth in the world by GDP, it is also growing at 8% a year, far outpacing China. Yet, as Shritama Bose points out, private investment is not keeping up. Despite splashy announcements from everyone from Apple  (AAPL.O)  to Adani, the contribution to GDP from private companies is at its lowest level for a decade. Blame U.S. tariffs, cheap Chinese imports, and an aversion to taking on debt. That means India’s growth ambitions depend heavily on government spending.</p>
<p>THE WEEK IN PODCASTS American judges are on the front lines. As President Donald Trump’s administration undermines legal norms, and Congress cedes power to the White House, U.S. courts are filling some of the void. In this week’s episode of The Big View, Jeffrey Goldfarb talked to Reynolds Holding – research scholar at Columbia University Law School, author of “Better Judgment”, and a former Breakingviews editor – about the sense of purpose among jurists. Over on the Viewsroom, Jonathan Guilford and Aimee Donnellan deconstructed the bidding battle for Warner Bros Discovery with Jennifer Saba and Stephen Gandel.</p>
<p>PARTING SHOT If the Metaverse is dead, what happens to Meta Platforms? That’s the corporate identity conundrum facing Mark Zuckerberg. It’s less than five years since the Facebook founder rebranded the social network to reflect his obsession with building new virtual worlds. More than $70 billion of investment later, the project is a dud, and the company has moved on to artificial intelligence and creepy Ray-Bans. A new name is necessary. But what should it be? Rob Cyran offers some suggestions for the brand consultants. Will the world’s seventh-largest company soon be known as “WhatsAppful” or “GladAItor”? Take your pick. Want to receive The Week in Breakingviews in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up for the newsletter here. Follow Peter Thal Larsen on Bluesky and LinkedIn.</p>
<p>Private firms’ contribution to India’s GDP is edging down</p>
<p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BRV-BRV/akvejnmwzpr/chart.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="1504" height="980" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BRV-BRV/akvejnmwzpr/chart.png"/></p>
<p>(Editing by Liam Proud; Production by Oliver Taslic)</p>

<p>David Ellison launched a bid for Warner Bros Discovery amid a mixed week for the Ellison family, with Oracle shares plunging due to overinvestment fears. The bidding war for Warner Bros highlights lessons from past media acquisitions, including the enduring value of content, access to debt, foreign investment interest, and Hollywood insiders benefiting the most. Sovereign funds from the Gulf are backing Paramount's offer, waiving governance rights to overcome foreign ownership scrutiny.</p>

BREAKINGVIEWS-The Week in Breakingviews: The war over Warner