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Larry Ellison Cancels $7.5 Billion Oracle Stock Sale
Confirmed
In Short: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has canceled a planned sale of up to 50 million shares, eliminating a potential multibillion-dollar insider sale.
Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle, has canceled a planned sale of up to 50 million shares of Oracle stock, valued at around $7.5 billion, according to a statement from the company. The decision comes as Oracle faces significant challenges, including heavy artificial-intelligence spending and job cuts to conserve cash.
The trading plan was adopted on June 22, when the targeted shares were valued at about $8.75 billion. Shares dipped 1.7% that day after Oracle reported thinner gross margins, stoking worries about the pace of spending. Oracle followed up with a blunt statement: 'No Oracle stock was sold under that plan, and he has no other plans to sell any of his Oracle stock.
Scrapping the planned stock sale may ease some of those concerns, as Oracle attempts one of the largest infrastructure expansions in its history, driven by enormous demand for computing capacity required to train and operate artificial intelligence models. The decision comes as Ellison remains Oracle’s largest shareholder, controlling more than 38% of the company.
The cancellation of the stock sale was announced on Saturday, just one day after the company revealed that Ellison had sought to use a trading program that would have permitted selling those shares through October. According to reports, a person close to Ellison said the billionaire believes Oracle shares are undervalued.
The decision to cancel the sale is significant for investors, as it indicates that Ellison is not planning to divest his substantial stake in the company. Oracle stock is down 22% since the beginning of the year, and the company is facing scrutiny over its AI expansion and financial management.
What's confirmed
- Oracle followed up with a blunt statement: "No Oracle stock was sold under that plan, and he has no other plans to sell any of his Oracle stock." The reversal landed just one day after the company revealed he had sought to use a trading program that would have permitted selling those shares through Oct.
- Disrupt 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, and more take over 6 industry stages. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Oracle co-founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison has canceled a planned sale of his Oracle stock, the company announced on Saturday.
What's still developing
- Oracle's heavy artificial-intelligence spending tied to big-name clients such as OpenAI is weighing on its balance sheet, and management has been cutting thousands of jobs to conserve cash.
- Ellison has also used his wealth to back his son David’s acquisition of Warner Bros., which is currently being contested in court.
- Actress and activist Jane Fonda rushed to defend actor Mark Ruffalo on Thursday after Paramount accused him of invoking antisemitic tropes, calling out Larry Ellison specifically.
- "Larry Ellison, because he doesn’t like Mark Ruffalo’s position on the merger, accuses him of antisemitism when he said nothing that isn’t within his constitutional right to say. It’s a tactic they’re using. He should be ashamed of himself, Larry Ellison. But there’s a lot of support for Mark. A lot of people came forward," Fonda said in an interview at Diane von Furstenberg's DVF Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- The Ellisons are carrying so much debt, and it’s being postponed now, so that they have to pay these huge sums.
- The public clash erupts as California Attorney General Rob Bonta cancels a meeting over the $110B streaming deal.
- Ruffalo was previously accused of invoking "antisemitic tropes" by Paramount after the Marvel star shared a video from August of Safra Catz, an Oracle executive vice chair and Paramount board member, discussing technology Oracle used to assist Israel after the Oct.
- The actor linked Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, to financing behind the proposed acquisition and suggested the merger would be used to push "oppression." "These ‘really profoundly scary technologies’ will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you," Ruffalo said.