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Redstone, Skydance Set Tentative Agreement on Paramount Stake: Report

Shari Redstone, controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, reached a tentative agreement with Skydance Media for her stake in the company.

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Despite reports that Byron Allen's Allen Media Group was courting the media company with a $30B offer, Apollo Global Management Inc. was looking at a $27B offer, and even Warner Bros. Discovery was in on the rumblings, Bloomberg is reporting that Shari Redstone, controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, has reached a tentative agreement with David Ellison's Skydance Media to sell her stake in the company. Reportedly, Skydance is in the midst of private talks with "a panel of independent directors at Paramount as part of a provisional accord to buy Redstone's family-holding company National Amusements." To offer some perspective, National Amusements controls a nearly 80% voting stake in Paramount. Though all sides have declined to comment on the reporting, the news itself wouldn't be a surprise as Redstone has been trying to make a deal with Skydance for the past several months.

Paramount
Image: Paramount Global, Skydance

That said – while it might not be a surprise  – if true, the move won't be a smooth one when it comes to Ellison's plans to merge Paramount with his own multimedia company. While the two sides have seen their partnership result in film hits such as Tom Cruise-starring Top Gun: Maverick, an outright merger is a move that might not sit well with investors and executives on the Paramount side. In addition, any potential deal would be subject to approval by Paramount's board. Recently, it was reported that Apollo Global Management's previous offer was only for Paramount Pictures – with the company reportedly not interested in other aspects of the company (including cable networks BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon & MTV). In addition, Apollo Global is reportedly not looking to get its hands on the company's streaming platforms, Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The lack of response on Redstone's side leaves a distinct impression that she's not interested in breaking up Paramount Global and selling off its pieces – with Skydance looking to merge the entire company into its fold.

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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