For months now Paramount has been in talks with multiple companies for a potential sale or merger. This includes talks with Warner Bros. Discovery, Appollo Global Management, and others. Some of these talks have gone well others like Warner Bros. Discovery have walked away from a possible merger with Paramount.
Now Variety is reporting that Paramount Global has turned down an offer to sell itself to Apollo Global Management for $27 billion. This offer was reportedly made over the weekend as a cash deal, but Shari Redstone, the majority owner of Paramount, declined to entertain the bid.
This all comes as it is being reported by The New York Times that Paramount and Skydance Media are getting closer to a deal that would see the two companies merge. According to the report, Paramount and Skydance Media are working on a deal to give Skydance a 30-da window for exclusive talks as the two sides try to finalize a deal.
Exclusive windows like this are common in talks like this. Well, it does not guarantee that a deal will happen typically, windows like this happen when both sides think a deal is very possible.
Currently, Paramount Global is controlled by media executive Shari Redstone. Redstone 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. With that ownership, the Redstone family needs to be on board with any deal, and it has been reported that they are more interested in a deal like this than other deals, like the offer from Appollo Global Management to buy just the studios.
Any new owner of National Amusements would control Paramount’s cable TV networks, which include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, and multiple movie theaters.
Talks between Paramount and Skydance have reportedly been happening since November 2023.
The news comes as the entertainment industry faces difficult times with cable TV viewership is declining and a majority of streamers struggling to achieve profitability. Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount+, is among the companies fighting to stay afloat.
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