Posted in: Movies, Paramount+, streaming, TV | Tagged: paramount, Paramount Global, Skydance

Paramount Board Special Committee Approves Skydance Deal: Report

Reports are that Skydance Media and National Amusements Inc. are one step closer to a deal that would see Skydance acquire Paramount Global.

Though all sides are remaining mum on the matter until an expected formal announcement on Monday, Bloomberg News and others are reporting that David Ellison's Skydance Media has taken a major step forward in its rollercoaster efforts to acquire Paramount Global from controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc (NAI). Less than a week after a tentative agreement was reached between Skydance Media, Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital, and Shari Redstone's NAI, Paramount Global's special committee of its board of directors has reportedly given the deal a green light. If true, the next step would most likely be to see the full board take the proposal into consideration – but there's still some time for a last-minute player to enter the deal.

Here's how the deal is shaping up based on what's being reported at this point. If the Skydance Media agreement moves forward, then Redstone and her family will receive $1.75 billion – with additional funds being applied to bringing down Paramount Global's debt load. The deal between Skydance Media and Paramount Global is expected to play out in two phases – with the second phase seeing a full merger between the two. In terms of who controls what, NAI currently controls close to 80% of Paramount Global's Class A shares (or voting shares) – though it only holds approximately 10& of its equity value.

But not so fast! Reportedly, the current agreement includes a provision that gives Redstone a 45-day window to field offers from other parties. Previously, Apollo Global Management (alone and with Sony Pictures), Barry Diller, and Edgar Bronfman Jr. have explored bids for Paramount Global.

At the beginning of June, CNBC's David Faber reported that both sides had agreed on the terms of a merger – with an announcement expected within days. Reportedly, the next step was for Redstone – Paramount's controlling shareholder (with 77% of Class A Paramount shares) – to sign off the the deal between the company and Ellison's Skydance (alongside private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR). A little more than a week later, Redstone would apparently pull the plug on the deal – with Paramount Global's CEO trio of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins moving forward with alternative plans to right the company's financial situation.

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