Shares of Paramount Global increased by 14.9% during Wednesday’s trading session following Bloomberg a report that the independent directors’ special committee of the media conglomerate has started exclusive discussions with David Ellison’s Skydance Media regarding a potential merger.
The agreement would involve Skydance taking over control of Paramount through the stake held by Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, which owns 77.3% of its Class A (voting) common stock and 5.2% of its Class B common stock.
Representatives for Skydance chose not to comment. National Amusements and Paramount did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Skydance originally showed interest in Paramount’s assets, which consist of Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, CBS, and cable networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon, in December. It then made an initial offer in January for an undisclosed sum.
Valued at over $4 billion, the company has collaborated with Paramount on projects like the “Mission: Impossible” series and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Aside from Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish in December to discuss a potential merger, but those discussions have now stopped. Other potential buyers include Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen, who made a $30 billion bid, including debt, for the company, and Apollo Global Management, which submitted an $11 billion offer to purchase Paramount’s film and TV studio.
More information to follow…
