Modric in midfield, Cardinale up topPhotograph: Getty Images

Dec 30th 2025|4 min read

Even a Hollywood blockbuster rarely involves such a varied cast. Soon after Netflix said in early December that it would acquire most of Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount swooped in with a hostile bid. Its offer of $108bn for the whole of its rival film studio is backed not just by David Ellison, Paramount’s chief executive, and his father Larry, a tech tycoon and one of the richest men in the world. Also on board are Apollo, a private-equity shop; several Gulf sovereign-wealth funds—and RedBird, an investment firm with a mere $12bn in assets under management.

Signage for Mizuho Bank Ltd., a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MHFG), at one of the bank's branches in Tokyo, Japan.

RedBird, a small firm doing big media deals