WEBVTT - Biggest streaming stories - 2025 Recap

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<v Speaker 1>This is what the flax. I'm Brett and I'm Justin

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<v Speaker 1>and it's Friday, the nineteenth of December. In this recap episode,

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<v Speaker 1>we're breaking down the biggest streaming stories of twenty twenty five.

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<v Speaker 1>Twenty twenty five was a turning point for streaming. It

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<v Speaker 1>was about big deals, ownership shakeups and platforms that are

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<v Speaker 1>picking new sides. So let's take a recap of the

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<v Speaker 1>three biggest streaming stories of twenty twenty five in Australia

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<v Speaker 1>and around the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Three massive stories today, Juzzy boy let's do it for

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<v Speaker 2>our first. Dezone, the sports streaming platform and Foxtel's new owner,

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<v Speaker 2>has made a US nine hundred and thirty six million

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<v Speaker 2>dollar loss in twenty twenty four.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing like a company that celebrates losing slightly less money

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<v Speaker 1>this year, so tell.

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<v Speaker 2>Me more so. De Zone spelled da z N was

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<v Speaker 2>founded in twenty fifteen and has ambitions to become the

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<v Speaker 2>Spotify of sport.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. It's a global sports streaming service owned by Access Industries,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a private investment group owned by Len Blavatnik

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<v Speaker 1>and Jasey Boyd.

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<v Speaker 2>The Zone has made quite the splash in Australia recently

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<v Speaker 2>after acquiring Foxtel for two point two billion dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>But then, man, it ain't just Foxtel. De Zone also

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<v Speaker 1>owns broadcast rights to the Bundesliga and LaLiga Soccer.

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<v Speaker 2>Also Boxing MMA, the NFL internationally.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, the good news for de Zone is that it's

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<v Speaker 1>revenue climb to three point two billion US dollars in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, hit me with some bad news, juzzy boy.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, despite that revenue, the Zone still made a nine

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and thirty six million US dollar loss for the year,

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<v Speaker 1>which is actually.

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<v Speaker 2>A better performance than it's a one point four billion

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<v Speaker 2>dollar loss the year before.

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<v Speaker 1>So to keep the lights on, do Zone had to

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<v Speaker 1>call in a billion dollars from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth.

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<v Speaker 2>Fun and don't forget five hundred and eighty seven million

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<v Speaker 2>dollars from Access Industries.

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<v Speaker 1>But do Zone CEO reckons twenty twenty six is its

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<v Speaker 1>year as it pushes towards profitability.

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<v Speaker 2>Big talk for a team still deep in the red zone.

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<v Speaker 1>So what is the key leading here?

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<v Speaker 2>The path to profitability is the journey a company takes

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<v Speaker 2>from operating at a loss to generating consistent net income.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, For high growth companies, early life are often a

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<v Speaker 1>bit part of the plan.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the price of building technology or buying rights attracting

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<v Speaker 2>millions of customers.

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<v Speaker 1>But for these high growth companies, the key is also

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<v Speaker 1>showing a clear path towards profitability.

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<v Speaker 2>Or else investors can feel like they're investing good money

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<v Speaker 2>after bad and ultimately just lose hope.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not to say it is impossible to hit profitability

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<v Speaker 1>after many years be man. Take Amazon for example, uh huh.

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<v Speaker 2>It's spent nearly nine years focused purely on growth before

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<v Speaker 2>turning its very first annual profit in two thousand and three, and.

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<v Speaker 1>Ubertook even longer. They reported their first operating profit fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>years after launching.

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<v Speaker 2>So Juzzy Boy. If de Zone wants to become the

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<v Speaker 2>quote Spotify of sport, it needs to start showing can

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<v Speaker 2>actually become a sustainable business.

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<v Speaker 1>For our second story, YouTube has smashed viewership records and

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<v Speaker 1>ad revenue as it competes head on with old school

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<v Speaker 1>TV channels.

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<v Speaker 2>YouTube's come a long way since Charlie bit my finger.

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<v Speaker 2>So tell me more, okay? So YouTube is owned by Alphabet,

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<v Speaker 2>which also owns Google, Google Cloud, Android, bit Bit, Gemini

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<v Speaker 2>Way mow and plenty more and the man.

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<v Speaker 1>Google bought YouTube back in two thousand and six for

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<v Speaker 1>just one point sixty five billion US dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>And now YouTube is making nearly eight times that amount

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<v Speaker 2>in advertising revenue each and every year.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, YouTube's ad revenue jumped to nine point eight

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<v Speaker 1>billion US dollars in the past year, which was up

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen percent.

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<v Speaker 2>But even scarier than that, Juzzy Boy, is that YouTube

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<v Speaker 2>isn't just an online video streaming platform anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>It's considered more of a fully fledged TV network because

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<v Speaker 1>of its ability to be connected to your TV.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, YouTube now accounts for twelve point eight percent

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<v Speaker 2>of all TV viewership.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the high share any platform has ever hit, according

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<v Speaker 1>to Nielsen and Juzzy Wait, this is just another reminder

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<v Speaker 1>of how connected TV has crushed old school TV networks

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<v Speaker 1>and will probably continue to do so a RIP network

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<v Speaker 1>ten So what is the key learning here?

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<v Speaker 2>Connected TV or CTV is the new battleground for advertisers,

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<v Speaker 2>and YouTube has already won the first few rounds of

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<v Speaker 2>this battle.

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<v Speaker 1>You say, by man. Unlike traditional TV ads, which are

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<v Speaker 1>often hard to measure, CTV ads are delivered via Internet

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<v Speaker 1>connected TVs.

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<v Speaker 2>That means they can target their audience a whole lot better.

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<v Speaker 1>They know what that viewers watched previously as well as

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<v Speaker 1>their interests.

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<v Speaker 2>They can track data on the performance of the ads

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<v Speaker 2>as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they're not guessing that the audience of the block

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<v Speaker 1>is middle aged men and women in a two story

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<v Speaker 1>house in metro Melbourne or Sydney. In fact, by Man

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube claims CTV ads on its platform drove over one

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<v Speaker 1>billion conversions in the past twelve months.

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<v Speaker 2>So Josey boy YouTube isn't just an online video platform

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<v Speaker 2>no more.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a TV network, a search engine, a music service,

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<v Speaker 1>and an ad tech beast all in one.

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<v Speaker 2>And clearly it is working. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>For our third and final story, Paramount has crashed the

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<v Speaker 1>Hollywood party with a one hundred and eight billion US dollar

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<v Speaker 1>hostile bid for Warner Brothers.

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<v Speaker 2>Discovery puts the popcorn in that microwave. Jussy Boy, close

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<v Speaker 2>the door, because this is peak Hollywood drama. Tell me more.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, So Warner Brothers Discovery is the entertainment giant behind HBO, CNN, DC, Comics,

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<v Speaker 1>Harry Potter, and HBO Max as well.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the company that actually merged Warner Brothers and

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<v Speaker 2>Discovery back in April twenty twenty two in a forty

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<v Speaker 2>three billion dollar merger and b man Netflix.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, they need absolutely no introduction at all.

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<v Speaker 2>Late last week, Netflix announced a deal to acquire Warner

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<v Speaker 2>Brothers Discovery studio and streaming business including HBO Max.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, this is a cash and stock offer that valued

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<v Speaker 1>this part of the business at seventy two billion US

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<v Speaker 1>dollars in equity.

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<v Speaker 2>But this didn't include the discovery part of the business.

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<v Speaker 1>And the man at the time, this deal was announced

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<v Speaker 1>and approved by Warner brother Discoveries board, and it seemed

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<v Speaker 1>like it was all wrapped up in a nice and

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<v Speaker 1>little package.

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<v Speaker 2>Until Paramount Skydants entered the chat.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Paramount is now owned by David Ellison, sign of

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<v Speaker 1>Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and.

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<v Speaker 2>He has just launched an all cash, hostile takeover to

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<v Speaker 2>Warner Brothers Discovery.

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<v Speaker 1>Paramounts offered to buy the entirety of Warner Brothers Discovery

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<v Speaker 1>in a one hundred and eight billion US dollar all

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<v Speaker 1>cash deal. A little late for this deal now, Juzzy

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<v Speaker 1>Boy shortly and that's why Paramount's offer is a hostile one.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they're taking their case directly to Warner brother Discovery's shareholders,

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<v Speaker 2>but Warner Bro Discoveries board still recommends the Netflix deal

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<v Speaker 2>for now. So what's the key learning here?

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<v Speaker 1>A hostile takeover is basically a corporate git crashing.

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<v Speaker 2>It happens when a company attempts to acquire another business

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<v Speaker 2>by going directly to shareholders rather than negotiating with its board.

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<v Speaker 1>It usually occurs when the target company has rejected previous

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<v Speaker 1>bids or prefers another buyer, like Warner choosing Netflix. And

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<v Speaker 1>in this scenario, Paramount is launching a tender.

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<v Speaker 2>Offer that means shareholders receive a public invitation to sell

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<v Speaker 2>their shares at a specific price, in this case thirty

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<v Speaker 2>bukker rounies per share, which is.

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<v Speaker 1>Even higher than the Netflix offer of twenty seven dollars

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<v Speaker 1>per share.

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<v Speaker 2>And this tender offer bypasses management entirely. I mean, for Paramount, the.

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<v Speaker 1>Goal is to accumulate enough shares to gain a majority

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<v Speaker 1>or controlling stake in Water Brothers Discovery.

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<v Speaker 2>And this would then allow them to replace the existing

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<v Speaker 2>board and push the deal through.

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<v Speaker 1>And the man, let me tell you, isn't the first

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<v Speaker 1>time the Ellisons have done a hostile.

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<v Speaker 2>Takeover, all the way back two thousand and five Oracle,

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<v Speaker 2>which was bounded by Ellison's father, they launched a hostile

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<v Speaker 2>takeover offer for a company called PeopleSoft.

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<v Speaker 1>Eblesoft tried to reject the offer multiple times that Oracle

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<v Speaker 1>one and that support from shareholders to force the sale

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<v Speaker 1>to happen.

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<v Speaker 2>Next minute, deal closed and PeopleSoft became part of Oracle's

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<v Speaker 2>Enterprise software division for ten point three billion US dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>So, while tender offers rarely succeed, the Ellisons have a

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<v Speaker 1>tried and tested playbook.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on Monday,