Last week, Paramount and Skydance officially announced a deal to merge. With this deal Skydance will buy the Redstone families majority control of Paramount. Part of the deal though gave the Redstone family 45 days to look for other buyers to beat the Skydance offer.
One of the other potential buyers was Sony, who had looked at Paramount but now has decided not to buy Paramount, including its streaming services Pluto TV and Paramount+. This comes from a report by Deadline who says their sources confirmed Sony dropped out of the bid. Sony had reportedly made a preliminary $26 billion offer, but Paramount decided to go with Skydance instead. After that, Sony declined not to make a new offer.
The details of the deal Skydance made have not been announced but it is reportedly valued at $8 billion. This gives Skydance control of a media empire that includes CBS, Paramount+, BET, Nickelodeon, Pluto TV, and numerous other properties. Paramount and Skydance have a long history of working together on films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and more.
Shareholders will get between $15 a share to $23 a share depending on the type of stock they have.
The acquisition comes after earlier talks of a direct sale of Paramount to Skydance fell through. Instead, Skydance opted to purchase the controlling stake from the Redstone family, securing their dominance over the company.
The deal is being described as a complex transaction that will result in a merger of the two companies. Thought that process will take time. While the deal has been announced, the Redstone family has a 45-day window through August 21 to explore other potential bidders. However, if no other offers emerge, Skydance will be able to buy Paramount in August 2024, pending regulatory approval.
According to a memo seen by Reuters job cuts will continue at Paramount until the deal with Skydance closes.
With this deal, David Ellison, founder of Skydance, will now be the new majority owner of Paramount unless a new better deal appears.