A deal between Paramount Global and Skydance Media could see the media conglomerate acquire the independent studio in an all-stock deal worth about $5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Under the terms being discussed, National Amusements, which controls Paramount, would receive more than $2 billion in cash in the first phase of the deal, according to the report.
Separately, Skydance could inject a large cash injection into Paramount, owner of the Paramount Pictures movie studio, to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and help pay down debt, the newspaper said. I told it as a story.
Paramount and Skydance did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the WSJ report outside business hours.
National Amusements and its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, could not immediately be reached.
Paramount board members favor independent studios over a $26 billion offer from private equity firm Apollo Global Management and agreed to enter exclusive merger talks with Skydance Media, Reuters The news agency reported on Wednesday.
WSJ said that by merging the two companies, the combined company will have more flexibility in what it can do with these franchises, with Redstone getting cash while investors holding non-voting stock will be able to take advantage of the merger. He added that he could acquire shares in the later company.
The deal is more advanced than Apollo’s offer and, if successful, would end the dominance of the media empire built by Shari Redstone’s father, the late Sumner Redstone.
The agreement gives Skydance 30 days of exclusive negotiations with Paramount.
Skydance is led by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and has acquired National Amusements, which directly or indirectly owns approximately 77% of Paramount’s voting stock. The aims.
The sale is dependent on Ellison’s ability to merge Skydance and Paramount Global.
