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The Town with Matthew Belloni

Investor Gerry Cardinale on Why WarnerMount Will Work, Middle East Money, and Layoffs

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt is joined by Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner at RedBird Capital, the private equity fund backing Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, to answer some questions about what WarnerMount will look like, including if they plan to sell off one or both of the Paramount and Warner Bros. lots, why cost cuts won’t lead to layoffs, details around possible Middle East investment, and why this mega deal is good for Hollywood (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Hoppers’ and ‘The Bride!’ (34:02). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Gerry Cardinale Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, Stefano Sanchez, and Carlos Chiriboga Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series streaming March 14th - only on Paramount+. ZOOTOPIA 2. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode of The Town is brought to you by The Madison, the new original series on Paramount Plus.

0:10.2

Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan's most intimate story yet, unlike anything he's ever done before.

0:15.9

The Madison follows a family raised in a world of digital distraction forced by tragedy to truly see one another

0:22.1

and come together. Authentic, multi-layered, and did I mention starring Michelle Pfeiffer and

0:27.6

Kurt Russell? Don't miss the Madison. New series streaming March 14th, only on Paramount

0:33.6

Plus. It is Wednesday, March 4th. WarnerMount Week continues on the town as we further digest Paramount buying Warner Brothers Discovery,

0:43.5

one of the biggest and most impactful studio mergers in the history of the entertainment business.

0:48.0

We discussed the Hollywood angle with Lucas on Friday.

0:51.2

Then we did the Wall Street perspective with Rich Greenfield on Monday.

0:54.5

Should listen to both those episodes. Today, it's the view from inside this $11 billion

1:00.5

mega deal, what the investment thesis was for the Ellison family, how they plan to pare down

1:06.4

that $79 billion debt they took on to fund this deal, whether they'll sell one or both movie studio

1:13.1

lots, and if these Saudis and other Middle East investors will be among those backers.

1:18.4

Lots of questions.

1:19.3

So we've got the chief architect of this deal back on the show to discuss.

1:23.8

Jerry Cardinal is the founder and managing partner of Redbird Capital.

1:27.9

It's the private equity fund that backed Skydance and then Paramount Skydance and now the takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery.

1:34.9

Jerry does a lot of other deals, too, especially in the media space.

1:37.4

He's arguably the biggest and most influential dealmaker in the space right now.

1:41.5

He's agreed to let me grill him on the contours of this transaction.

1:45.5

Why, he says the coming cost cuts will not primarily focus on employee layoffs.

1:50.7

And ultimately, why he and David Ellison believe this mega deal is good for Hollywood.

...

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