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

Skydance, National Amusements Reach Tentative Paramount Global Deal

Report: David Ellison’s Skydance Media and Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. reach a tentative merger agreement for Paramount Global.

The on-again, off-again dance between David Ellison's Skydance Media, Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital, and Shari Redstone's National Amusements Inc. over the ownership fate of Paramount Global appears to be on in a very big way – with The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting that acquisition talks have resumed and that a tentative agreement is in place. From here, the deal would need to be reviewed by Paramount Global's special committee of its board of directors that was charged with facilitating a deal. the news comes after a month that saw both sides this close to a deal.

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.

Experts listed the value of the original deal before negotiations broke off at approximately $8 billion—a significant increase from Skydance's previous offer of approximately $5 billion. Here's how CNBC listed the specifics: Redstone would receive $2 billion for National Amusements. In turn, Skydance would purchase close to 50% of Class B Paramount shares – reportedly at $15/share ($4.5 billion) – which would leave the holders with equity in the new company that takes shape. In addition, $1.5 billion in cash would go from Skydance and RedBird Capital to Paramount to help reduce its debt. Once the deal was finalized and the dust had settled, Skydance and RedBird Capital would be the proud owners of two-thirds of Paramount – with Class B shareholders controlling the other third.

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