Over the last few months, news has been flying that Paramount is getting closer to a deal to be sold to or merge with Skydance. Now, after Skydance Media reportedly made the deal even stronger, a special committee of Paramount Global’s board members has approved a merger with Skydance, but the majority owner has not signed off on the deal. Now, The Wall Street Journal has reported that the majority owner of Paramount National Amusements, which is owned by the Redstone family with 74% control of Paramount, has decided not to accept the merger.
Last April CNBC reported a deal is close that would see Paramount merge with Skydance, but Spectrum Cable TV could be an issue. Now Spectrum and Paramount have reached a deal to keep Paramount networks on Spectrum Cable TV and add some of its streaming services. Many thought that would mean the merger with Skydance was a done deal but it has now ended.
In April, Variety reported that Paramount Global’s majority owner, Shari Redstone, turned down a cash offer from Apollo Global Management for $27 billion.
Exact details of the offer have not been disclosed, but it is reported that the Redstone family prefers this Skydance deal over other offers.
Paramount Global is controlled by media executive Shari Redstone who also controls National Amusements, which owns 77% of Paramount’s voting shares. Reportedly, the Redstone family is also looking to sell their 77% ownership of Paramount according to the Wall Street Journal report rather than approving a merger of Paramount. With that ownership, the Redstone family needs to be on board with any deal, and now it looks like they would rather sell their control of Paramount.
This all comes as it was reported a muti billion dollar offer has come in for National Amusements.
Any sale or merger would include the entire Paramount company from its cable TV networks, like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV, to multiple movie theaters.
Talks between Paramount and Skydance have reportedly been happening since November 2023 but now in June 2024 have come to an end.
The entertainment industry faces difficult times with cable TV viewership declining and most streamers struggling to achieve profitability. Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount+, is among the companies fighting to stay afloat.
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