Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Virginia Tech receives $20M anonymous donation for athletics

Virginia Tech’s program announced this week that it has received a $20 million anonymous , the largest gift to athletics in the school’s history.

The donation follows the university’s September announcement of a budget plan that calls for investing $229 million in athletics, coming from operational and philanthropic sources. The university calls the $20 million “a major step” in its efforts for its “Invest to Win” strategy, which aims to make Athletics competitive in NCAA’s current Division I and Football Bowl Subdivision.

The university said the money will help the new head football coach, James Franklin, and all other athletic programs recruit top players.

“We are deeply grateful for this extraordinary and timely gift,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in a statement. “Doing more with less, while a testament to the talent of our staff and student athletes, is no longer an option. Invest to Win is about winning championships.”

The university’s previous record athletics donation was an anonymous $15.2 million alumni gift made in 2017.

“The passion of Virginia Tech fans is unmatched and their continued generosity will help elevate our program,” Franklin, who joined Virginia Tech on Nov. 17, said in a statement. “There’s a clear sense of excitement from our fans about where we’re headed. This unprecedented level of support is critical and creates powerful momentum for everything we’re building.”

University officials say the school’s athletics help draw national attention to the university.

Some of Invest to Win’s objectives include fully funding nearly $20 million annually in student-athlete scholarships, investing in coaching staff, recruiting top players and soliciting potential donors to invest in scholarships, facility improvements and resources.

The university did not provide more specifics on how the money would be spent and whether there is a set time frame for expenditures.

According to the university’s website, supports more than 550 student athletes competing in 22 sports in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Tariffs have cost U.S. households $1,200 each since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping taxes on imports have cost the average American household nearly $1,200 since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, according to calculations by Democrats on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.

Using Treasury Department numbers on revenue from and Goldman Sachs estimates of who ends up paying for them, the Democrats’ report Thursday found that American consumers’ share of the bill came to nearly $159 billion — or $1,198 per household — from February through November.

“This report shows that [Trump’s] tariffs have done nothing but drive prices even higher for families,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the economic committee. “At a time when both parties should be working together to lower costs, the president’s tax on American families is simply making things more expensive.”

In his second term, Trump has reversed decades of U.S. policy that favored free . He’s imposed double-digit tariffs on almost every country on earth. According to Yale University’s Budget Lab, the average U.S. tariff has shot up from 2.4% at the beginning of the year to 16.8%, the highest since 1935.

The president argues that the import taxes will protect U.S. industries from unfair foreign competition, bring factories to the United States and raise money for the Treasury.

“President Trump’s tariffs have actually secured trillions in investments to make and hire in America as well as historic trade deals that finally level the playing field for American workers and industries,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “Democrats spent decades complaining about lopsided trade deals undermining the American working class, and now they’re complaining about the one president who has done something about it.”

The taxes are paid by importers who typically attempt to pass along the higher costs to their customers.

In Virginia, the saw a decline in the dollar value of imported and exported goods in 2025 compared to 2024, according to ‘s State of the Commonwealth economic report released this week. However, the report notes that not all costs were passed along to customers this year, as the White House’s revisions and postponements of announced tariffs led to uncertainty. Still, the report forecasts that Virginia’s real GDP growth will have slowed to 1.5% in 2025 due to tariffs and cuts in federal spending and .

Democrats did well in elections last month in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere largely because voters blame Trump and the Republicans for the high cost of living, just as they’d blamed Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for the same thing a year earlier.

Economist Kimberly Clausing of the UCLA School of Law and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, last week told a House subcommittee that Trump’s tariffs amount to “the largest tax increase on American consumers in a generation, lowering standards of living for all Americans.” Clausing, a Treasury Department tax official in the Biden administration, has calculated that Trump’s import taxes ”amount to an annual tax increase of about $1,700 for an average household.”

Virginia Business Deputy Editor Kate Andrews contributed to this article.

Fed’s Waller says he ‘absolutely’ would defend US central bank’s independence

Summary

  • Fed Gov. said he would “absolutely” defend
  • Waller is on the short list to succeed Chair next year
  • He said presidents and Fed leaders can communicate without compromising policy
  • Waller argued the Fed still has room to cut rates as inflation risks ease

NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Governor Christopher Waller, who is on the short list to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell next year, said on Wednesday he would “absolutely” defend the central bank’s independence if it were challenged by a U.S. president.

Waller, who is set to meet with about taking over from Powell when his term ends next May, noted that there are ways for the president and a Fed chief to interact and share their views without compromising the central bank’s work.

Trump “makes himself very clear on Truth Social” about what he wants out of monetary policy and “I don’t think there’s any confusion about it,” Waller said in response to a question during the Yale School of Management CEO Summit in New York.

But in terms of direct interactions between a Fed chief and the president, the times when they should interact directly are limited, Waller said. Noting that Fed leaders have appropriately coordinated with presidents in times of crisis, most of the time a closer relationship is not needed, Waller said.

“The Fed chair and the secretary of the Treasury have breakfast every two weeks,” Waller said, noting “that’s a normal chain of communication where information can be passed from the White House to the chair about what the administration’s needs are.”

“That’s a typical channel of communication. It’s well understood, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with continuing with that channel,” Waller said.

Asked whether he’d defend the central bank’s independence from a president who questioned that status, Waller said the answer would be “absolutely.”

POWELL SUCCESSION RACE

Waller, a former director of research at the St. Louis Fed, became a Fed governor in 2020 after being selected to the job by Trump during his first term in the White House. Waller, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh have been mentioned as the ones most likely to take over from Powell.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed and Powell for not cutting as aggressively as he would like.

The Fed is independent as a matter of law, and a wide range of experts, as well as policymakers, believe central banks make policy better when they are free from political considerations. For example, the aggressively easy monetary policy advocated by Trump carries large inflation risks.

The president’s Fed chief selection process has raised questions about how independent any nominee would be. In a highly unusual move, Trump installed White House economic adviser Steven Miran as a Fed governor, allowing him to serve as a central bank policymaker while on leave from his other role.

Waller has been a steadfast supporter of cutting rates to help buoy a weakening job market. And while some observers thought his early shift toward dovish monetary policy was part of a potential bid to succeed Powell, he has stressed that his view was driven by the data and subsequently supported by the ‘s performance.

In his remarks on Wednesday, Waller said the Fed still has room to cut rates further because inflation risks are declining and job growth has weakened.

A poll shared at the Yale event showed that while corporate leaders strongly favored Waller as Powell’s successor, only about a third of them think Trump will pick the Fed governor, similar to the odds of it being Hassett or Warsh.

 

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Paul Simao)

 

Federal employment, trade declined in 2025 in Virginia

 

SUMMARY:

  • ‘s State of the Commonwealth economic report forecasts 4% in Virginia at end of 2025
  • Federal government has declined in Virginia this year, with further decreases expected with data from October and November
  • Dollar value in at has fallen in first two quarters of 2025 compared to same quarters in 2024.

Virginia saw some economic growth in 2025, but it was slow compared with 2024, and statewide unemployment is expected to rise in 2026, according to Old Dominion University’s State of the Commonwealth economic report released Tuesday.

Authored by Bob McNab, director of ODU’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, the 11th annual report predicts the state’s unemployment rate will hit 4% at the end of 2025. It will reflect the autumn departure of who took the “fork in the road” offered by world’s richest man Elon Musk and DOGE earlier this year.

While those employees received paychecks through the end of September, as of Oct. 1, most were no longer employed by the federal government, and some are out of work entirely, the report says, although national unemployment numbers were delayed by the October-November government shutdown, so for now, these are conjectures.

However, it is clear that the number of Virginia residents working for the federal government has declined in 2025, from a peak of 196,700 people in December 2024 to 185,200 in August.

Federal employees, the report says, “represent ‘fiscal gold’ for Virginia. Federal civilian employees tend to be older, more educated and relatively more experienced than their private sector counterparts.” They’re also better paid on average, with a federal employee making approximately 1.6 times that of a private sector employee based on 2023 numbers.

This ratio is likely to increase to 2.0 in 2026, the report says — essentially requiring the state to come up with two private sector jobs for every federal government job lost in order to keep up the amount of compensation made in Virginia.

Meanwhile, ‘s have led to a decline in the dollar value of international trade through the Port of Virginia in 2025, although other events — including 2024’s temporary closure of the Port of Baltimore and the subsequent increase in imports through — make the decline appear more dramatic than in ordinary conditions. Trade decreased 12.6% between the first quarter of 2024 and the same quarter in 2025, and an 8.7% decline between the second quarter of 2024 and Q2 2025 at the Port of Virginia, according to the report.

However, the report notes, some exporters and importers did not pass along tariff costs to customers in the form of higher prices, primarily due to Trump’s “announcements, revisions and postponements,” which created uncertainty. “Since tariffs ‘cascade’ through the supply chain … it is likely that prices will rise. The open question is whether these price increases are transitory or structural,” the report concludes.

Overall, Virginia saw some growth in economic activity in 2025, but it was slower compared with 2024, and the civilian force and the number of people reporting that they are working in Virginia fell by 1.2% between January and August. One bit of good news was that the state reported $1.8 billion in surplus revenues over the past fiscal year — 6.1% in growth over fiscal 2024.

However, on the horizon is the impact of the federal “Big Beautiful Bill,” which the report says will “negatively impact funding for Medicaid, higher education and other functions across the commonwealth.”

McNab, chair of the Strome College of Business’ economic department, noted in a statement Tuesday that 2025 has been “a challenging year for many Virginians. Cuts to federal civilian employment and reductions in non-defense spending have rippled throughout the commonwealth of Virginia. Higher tariffs have negatively impacted the movement of goods through the Port of Virginia. Inflation remains elevated, and consumer sentiment remains near record lows.”

Google works to erode Nvidia’s software advantage with Meta’s help

Summary

  • is building “TorchTPU” to improve support on its
  • Initiative aims to lower barriers to adopting TPUs instead of GPUs
  • PyTorch compatibility is key to winning over enterprise AI developers
  • Google is working with Meta as it expands TPU sales beyond its own cloud

Dec 17 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s Google is working on a new initiative to make its chips better at running PyTorch, the world’s most widely used AI software framework, in a move aimed at weakening Nvidia’s longstanding dominance of the AI computing market, according to people familiar with the matter.

The effort is part of Google’s aggressive plan to make its a viable alternative to Nvidia’s market-leading GPUs. TPU sales have become a crucial growth engine of Google’s cloud revenue as it seeks to prove to investors that its AI investments are generating returns.

But hardware alone is not enough to spur adoption. The new initiative, known internally as “TorchTPU,” aims to remove a key barrier that has slowed adoption of TPU chips by making them fully compatible and developer-friendly for customers who have already built their tech infrastructure using PyTorch software, the sources said. Google is also considering open-sourcing parts of the software to speed uptake among customers, some of the people said.

Compared with earlier attempts to support PyTorch on TPUs, Google has devoted more organizational focus, resources and strategic importance to TorchTPU, as demand grows from companies that want to adopt the chips but view the software stack as a bottleneck, the sources said.

PyTorch, an open-source project heavily supported by Meta Platforms, is one of the most widely used tools for developers who make AI models. In Silicon Valley, very few developers write every line of code that chips from Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices or Google will actually execute.

Instead, those developers rely on tools like PyTorch, which is a collection of pre-written code libraries and frameworks that automate many common tasks in developing AI software. Originally released in 2016, PyTorch’s history has been closely tied to Nvidia’s development of CUDA, the software that some Wall Street analysts regard as the company’s strongest shield against competitors.

Nvidia’s engineers have spent years ensuring that software developed with PyTorch runs as fast and efficiently as possible on its chips. Google, by contrast, has long had its internal armies of software developers use a different code framework called Jax, and its TPU chips use a tool called XLA to make that code run efficiently. Much of Google’s own AI software stack and performance optimization has been built around Jax, widening the gap between how Google uses its chips and how customers want to use them.

A spokesperson did not comment on the specifics of the project, but confirmed to Reuters that the move would provide customers with choice.

“We are seeing massive, accelerating demand for both our TPU and GPU infrastructure,” the spokesperson said. “Our focus is providing the flexibility and scale developers need, regardless of the hardware they choose to build on.”

TPU FOR CUSTOMERS

Alphabet had long reserved the lion’s share of its own chips, or TPUs, for in-house use only. That changed in 2022, when Google’s cloud computing unit successfully lobbied to oversee the group that sells TPUs. The move drastically increased Google Cloud’s allocation of TPUs and as customers’ interest in AI has grown, Google has sought to capitalize by ramping up production and sales of TPUs to external customers.

But the mismatch between the PyTorch frameworks used by most of the world’s AI developers and the Jax frameworks that Google’s chips are currently most finely tuned to run means that most developers cannot easily adopt Google’s chips and get them to perform as well as Nvidia’s without undertaking significant, extra engineering work. Such work takes time and money in the fast-paced AI race.

If successful, Google’s “TorchTPU” initiative could significantly reduce switching costs for companies that want alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs. Nvidia’s dominance has been reinforced not only by its hardware but by its CUDA software ecosystem, which is deeply embedded in PyTorch and has become the default method by which companies train and run large AI models.

Enterprise customers have been telling Google that TPUs are harder to adopt for AI workloads because they historically required developers to switch to Jax, a machine-learning framework favored internally at Google, rather than PyTorch, which most AI developers already use, the sources said.

JOINT EFFORTS WITH META

To speed development, Google is working closely with Meta, the creator and steward of PyTorch, according to the sources. The two tech giants have been discussing deals for Meta to access more TPUs, a move first reported by The Information.

Early offerings for Meta were structured as Google-managed services, in which customers like Meta installed Google’s chips designed to run Google software and models, with Google providing operational support. Meta has a strategic interest in working on software that makes it easier to run TPUs, in a bid to lower inference costs and diversify its AI infrastructure away from Nvidia’s GPUs to gain negotiating power, the people said.

Meta declined to comment.

This year, Google has begun selling TPUs directly into customers’ data centers rather than limiting access to its own cloud. Amin Vahdat, a Google veteran, was named head of AI infrastructure this month, reporting directly to CEO Sundar Pichai.

Google needs that infrastructure both to run its own AI products, including the Gemini chatbot and AI-powered search, and to supply customers of Google Cloud, which sells access to TPUs to companies such as Anthropic.

 

(Reporting by Krystal Hu, Kenrick Cai and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Kenneth Li and Matthew Lewis)

 

Peraton executive returns to SAIC as chief growth officer

Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. () announced Tuesday that it has tapped former Peraton executive Ravi Dankanikote to be , effective immediately.

Dankanikote, who left SAIC in August to become Peraton’s chief growth officer, will succeed , who is remaining at SAIC as its chief technology officer, a position he has held since 2022. In September, under former CEO Toni Townes-Whitley, Ritchie was named chief growth officer. Townes-Whitley departed in October, after having served two years as the contractor’s CEO, and in mid-November, SAIC reorganized and consolidated five business groups into three.

In his new role, Dankanikote will lead the company’s enterprise growth strategy. He has more than 30 years of growth leadership experience in the government contracting space. SAIC praised him for having a proven track record of building organizations that focus on customer needs, a deep understanding of mission requirements, the ability to align people to accomplish company goals and a commitment to promoting modern solutions.

“By fusing cutting-edge commercial innovation with trusted delivery customers, we have a powerful opportunity to drive mission outcomes, accelerate modernization and deliver sustainable growth for all stakeholders,” Dankanikote said in a statement.

Dankanikote previously served as SAIC’s senior vice president for business development from 2021 until August, when he joined Peraton. He also spent 27 years at CACI serving in multiple senior business development and growth roles.

As chief growth officer, Dankanikote will report to SAIC’s interim CEO, Jim Reagan.

“Ravi doesn’t just know SAIC, he knows the industry,” Reagan said in a statement. “He is deeply attuned to industry trends and the transformation that is occurring right now in the market in terms of what customers want and how they want to purchase it. He is the right choice to lead our business development and growth strategy as SAIC implements our simplified organizational structure and sharpens our focus on key opportunities to provide even greater value to our customers, increase growth for our shareholders, and create a stronger company.”

SAIC has about 24,000 employees and reported annual revenue of $7.48 billion for fiscal 2025.

Hooker Furnishings closes $6.1M sale of two brands

Martinsville-based maker has completed the sale of its Pulaski Furniture and Samuel Lawrence Furniture case goods brands to Magnussen Home Furnishings for approximately $6.1 million, the company confirmed on Monday, marking what executives call a key step in its effort to streamline operations and improve profitability.

The transaction includes a customary post-closing adjustment, with 10% of the purchase price subject to a 210-day holdback for indemnification and final purchase price true-ups. The company announced the transaction in early December, and the estimated purchase price at the time was approximately $4.8 million.

As part of the deal, Magnussen will assume the lease for Home Meridian International’s High Point showroom, allowing Hooker to shed approximately $4.8 million in showroom lease liabilities and related expenses.

“Completing this transaction marks a significant milestone in our journey toward enhanced profitability, and we are pleased to complete the transaction at a higher price than initially estimated,” CEO Jeremy Hoff said in a statement. “We are moving ahead with positive momentum after delivering a modest improvement in sales and margins within Hooker Branded and Domestic Upholstery for the fiscal third quarter, and we are excited for the significant opportunity ahead with our Margaritaville licensed collection.”

Hoff added that the company plans to continue returning capital to shareholders through its newly announced share repurchase program while investing in its streamlined business.

Stump & Co. served as financial adviser to Hooker, while McGuireWoods acted as legal adviser in connection with the transaction.

The sale follows Hooker’s fiscal 2026 third quarter earnings report, in which the company reported a wider net loss driven largely by non-cash impairment charges and lower hospitality shipments, but in the report and follow-up investor call, executives cited improving margins in core segments, a significantly reduced cost structure and early retailer commitments for the Margaritaville licensed collection as signs the company is positioning itself for future growth.

Oil rises as Trump’s Venezuela blockade takes edge off global crude surplus concerns

NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) – rallied by more than 1% on Wednesday after U.S. ordered a blockade of all under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela, raising global political tensions and easing concerns about a swelling surplus of global crude.

futures settled at $59.68 a barrel, rising 76 cents, or 1.3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $55.94 a barrel, up 67 cents, or 1.2%.

Growing U.S. fuel inventories tempered the rise in oil prices.

Prices had settled near five-year lows in the previous session on signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. A peace agreement could see Western sanctions on Moscow eased, freeing up supply as the market grapples with fragile global demand.

On Tuesday, Trump ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, saying he regarded President Nicolas Maduro’s administration as a foreign terrorist organization. The Venezuelan government said in a statement it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat.”

Trump made his blockade comments a week after the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW BLOCKADE WOULD WORK

It is unclear how many tankers will be affected and how the U.S. will impose the blockade, and whether Trump will turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels, as he did last week. In recent months, the U.S. has moved warships into the region.

Some energy experts are skeptical that Trump’s latest actions would make a meaningful dent in global supplies.

“While U.S. actions may inject short-term noise and modest risk premium, they are insufficient on their own to tighten global balances or drive a sustained rally in crude prices,” Kpler energy analysts said in a note.

While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country’s oil and crude by way of Iran and Russia have not been sanctioned. Tankers chartered by Chevron are carrying Venezuelan crude to the U.S. under an authorization previously granted by Washington.

China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, which accounts for about 1% of global supplies.

Adding further uncertainty to Venezuela’s energy production, state-run oil company PDVSA on Wednesday said it was resuming oil cargo deliveries at its terminals following a cyberattack that affected its centralized administrative systems.

At least two tankers carrying oil byproducts, including methanol and petroleum coke, departed from Venezuela’s largest port, Jose, according to ship-tracking data and internal documents from state company PDVSA.

The U.S. has not targeted exports of oil byproducts or petrochemicals since it first imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019.

RISING INVENTORIES

Rising inventories of gasoline and distillate in the U.S. took some of the steam out of crude oil’s rise. While crude inventories fell last week, those of gasoline and distillate grew more than analysts expected, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Crude inventories dropped by 1.3 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended December 12, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 1.1 million barrels.

U.S. gasoline stocks, meanwhile, added 4.8 million barrels in the week to 225.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a build of 2.1 million barrels.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.7 million barrels in the week to 118.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a rise of 1.2 million barrels, the EIA data showed.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Ahmad Ghaddar in London. Additional reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Jeslyn Lerh and Siyi Liu in Singapore, Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo;Editing by Mark Potter, Frances Kerry, Paul Simao, Rod Nickel)

(Additional reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Jeslyn Lerh and Siyi Liu in Singapore, Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo. Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)

 

Warner Bros Discovery board rejects rival bid from Paramount

Summary

  • Warner Bros board rejected ‘s $108.4 billion offer
  • Directors cited inadequate and risky financing assurances
  • Board said Netflix’s $27.75-per-share merger is superior
  • Paramount’s debt load and creditworthiness raised concerns

LOS ANGELES, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejected Paramount Skydance’s $108.4 billion hostile bid on Wednesday, saying it failed to provide adequate financing assurances.

In a letter to shareholders, disclosed in a regulatory filing, the board wrote that Paramount had “consistently misled” Warner Bros shareholders that its $30-per-share cash offer was fully guaranteed, or “backstopped,” by the Ellison family, led by billionaire and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

“It does not, and never has,” the board wrote of the guarantee of Paramount’s offer, noting that the offer posed “numerous, significant risks.”

The board said it found Paramount’s offer “inferior” to the merger agreement with Netflix’s. Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer for Warner Bros’ film and television studios, its library and the HBO Max streaming service is a binding agreement that requires no equity financing and has robust debt commitments, the board wrote.

Warner Bros has not yet set a date for a shareholder vote on the deal but it is expected to happen sometime in spring or early summer, its Chairman Samuel Di Piazza said in an interview with CNBC.

NETFLIX WELCOMES MOVE

Paramount did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Netflix welcomed the move.

“The Warner Bros Discovery Board reinforced that Netflix’s merger agreement is superior and that our acquisition is in the best interest of stockholders,” its co-CEO Ted Sarandos, said in a statement.

Netflix was already engaging with the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission, its other co-CEO Greg Peters told CNBC, while expressing confidence that the regulators would view the deal as pro-consumer and pro-growth.

Warner Bros shares were down 1.4% at $28.5 in premarket trading, while Netflix gained 1.5% and Paramount fell 1.8%.

Paramount last week took its case directly to Warner Bros shareholders, arguing it has arranged “air-tight financing” to support its bid, with $41 billion in new equity assured by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo.

Warner Bros board countered on Wednesday that Paramount’s most recent offer includes an equity commitment “for which there is no Ellison family commitment of any kind,” but rather the backing of “an unknown and opaque” Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust, whose assets and liabilities are not publicly disclosed and are subject to change.

“Despite having been told repeatedly by WBD how important a full and unconditional financing commitment from the Ellison family was…the Ellison family has chosen not to backstop the PSKY offer,” the Warner Bros board wrote. “A revocable trust is no replacement for a secured commitment by a controlling shareholder.”

WARNER BROS QUESTIONS PARAMOUNT’S CREDITWORTHINESS

Paramount has submitted a total of six bids to acquire the entire Warner Bros studio, including its television networks, including CNN and TNT Sports.

It has previously said the Ellison family trust – which Paramount says contains more than $250 billion in assets including about 1.16 billion shares of Oracle – is more than adequate to cover the equity commitment.

“To suggest that we are not ‘good for the money’ (or might commit fraud to try to escape our obligations), as certain reports have speculated, is absurd,” Paramount wrote in a letter to Warner Bros’ shareholders last week. Its debt commitments are not conditioned on Paramount’s financial condition, it wrote.

Warner Bros, however, pointed in the filing on Wednesday to what it described as structural risks in Paramount’s proposed financing, and also raised questions about Paramount’s financial condition and creditworthiness.

The offer relied on a seven-party, cross-conditional structure, with the Ellison Revocable Trust providing just 32% of the required equity commitment while capping its liability at $2.8 billion, Warner Bros said. It noted that the trust’s assets could be withdrawn at any time.

DEBT LEVELS AFTER DEAL WITH PARAMOUNT WILL BE RISKY

Netflix’s offer is backed by a public company with a market cap in excess of $400 billion with an investment grade balance sheet, the Warner board noted.

The company has told Warner Bros it would keep releasing the studio’s films in cinemas in a bid to ease fears that its deal would eliminate another studio and major source of theatrical films, according to people familiar with the matter.

Paramount, in contrast, has a $15 billion market capitalization and a credit rating “a notch above ‘junk,’ Warner Bros noted on Wednesday. Should the deal close, Paramount would have a debt ratio of 6.8 times its operating income “with virtually no current free cash flow.”

The bidder would also impose what Warner Bros said would be “onerous operating restrictions” on the company, during the potentially lengthy period between signing and closing, including limits on new content licensing deals.

Paramount’s plans to achieve $9 billion in “synergies” across the two studios was described as “ambitious” from an operational standpoint, the Warner Bros board noted, and would represent a new round of job losses that “would make Hollywood weaker, not stronger.”

Warner Bros Discovery’s board dismissed Paramount’s charges of unfairness – that had been set forth in a filing by Paramount last week – saying it held “dozens” of calls and meetings with the studio’s principals and advisors, including four in-person meetings and meals with CEO David Zaslav and Paramount CEO David Ellison, or his father, Larry Ellison.

“After each bid, we informed PSKY of the material deficiencies and offered potential solutions,” the Warner Bros board wrote. “Despite this feedback, PSKY has never submitted a proposal that is superior to the agreement.”

Paramount said it has already applied for regulatory approval in the U.S., and has alerted European regulators, shortening the path to regulatory approval.

Warner Bros’ board wrote it considered the regulatory risks in evaluating the Netflix and Paramount offers, and believes that either transaction would obtain the necessary U.S. and foreign regulatory approvals.

Netflix also offered a $5.8 billion break-up fee that was higher than Paramount’s $5 billion break-up fee.

The Warner Bros board also described the Paramount offer as “illusory,” adding it could be terminated or amended at any time prior to the deal’s completion, which is not the same as a binding merger agreement.

“The PSKY offer provides an untenable degree of risk and potential downside for WBD shareholders,” the board wrote.

(Dawn Chmielewski reported from Los Angeles, Milana Vinn reported from New York, additional reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Arun Koyyur)

 

Developer breaks ground on $500M mixed-use project in Henrico

A $500 million mixed-use development is coming to Financial’s former campus in County, its developer announced Tuesday.

The project, known as Midtown64, rests on a 46-acre site at the intersection of West Broad Street and Interstate 64. It will include up to 130,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space — anchored by a grocery store and a new-to-market fitness concept. It will also have up to 300,000 square feet of Class A office space, nearly 1,000 apartments, 194 townhomes built by Lennar and a 226-room hotel.

“Breaking ground on Midtown64 is an exciting milestone that brings to life our vision to create a first-class, mixed-use destination to serve and the greater Richmond region,” Eric Walter, president of Maryland-based developer , said in a statement. “We look forward to our continued partnership with the local community to deliver a vibrant, standout project for all to enjoy.”

A spokesperson said Greenberg Gibbons purchased the property from Genworth within the past week, with the acquisition cost included in the company’s $500 million investment. More information on the project, including specific company brands, was not immediately provided.

In a statement, Henrico County Board of Supervisors Chair Daniel J. Schmitt said Midtown64 “will energize the area, generate opportunities for businesses and residents and showcase Henrico’s vision for a vibrant, inclusive community where growth and opportunity thrive.”

Richmond-based hotel operator Shamin Hotels is a joint-venture partner with Gibbons in the project.

“We’re excited to partner with Greenberg Gibbons on another first-class project,” Neil Amin, CEO of Shamin Hotels, said in a statement. “Having our hotel within this dynamic destination will be very attractive to both business and leisure travelers in the area.”

Construction will proceed in phases, with the first phase including retail, 130,000 square feet of office space, multifamily residences, townhomes and the hotel. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2028.

Based in Baltimore, Greenberg Gibbons is a major developer, investor, owner and operator of mixed-use, retail, commercial and residential properties. Its portfolio includes more than 6.7 million square feet and $1.6 billion in assets, with more than 55 projects across eight states.