Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the holding company that controls the voting stock of media giant Paramount Global, has sold some of its real estate holdings in a bid to hurry up on $40 million in debt repayments that are due this week. was reported in the Post.
The media heiress is fighting to maintain control of both National Amusements and Paramount. Paramount is a remnant of the empire built by her late father, Sumner Redstone, and includes CBS, the Paramount+ streaming channel and movie studio, and cable TV networks such as Comedy Central. , Nickelodeon and MTV raised about $27 million in cash on Tuesday, a source close to the situation revealed.
The frenzied asset sale comes as Redstone is putting National Amusement up for auction, a process that has stalled after potential bidders including Apollo Global Management reportedly declined. It seems to be getting weaker.
A person familiar with the matter said the real estate sale “confirms that her financial flexibility is limited to some extent.”
National Amusement declined to comment.
The only buyer interested in National Amusements at the moment is David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which is also interested in acquiring Paramount, which would be a complex deal that would involve a merger of film studios. , officials said.
Paramount, which has an independent board of directors and is exploring its own options, recently concluded merger talks with Warner Bros. Discovery, according to reports.
National Amusements, which continues to owe $300 million to a group of hedge fund creditors, paid $27 million on Tuesday after selling the land underneath an aging movie theater it owns in Massachusetts. a person involved said.
To pay the remaining $13 million, which is due Friday, Mr. Redstone plans to borrow money from an existing line of credit extended by his banker Byron Trott’s BDT & MSD Partners, the people said. That’s what it means.
There is no grace period for the $40 million due on March 1, so there is a real risk of default if the loan is not paid in full, sources said.
The loss-making company has until May 2025 to pay the next $180 million.
A person close to the situation said, “This may indicate that the probability that the sale will be completed is not that high,” and the large reduction in the credit limit indicates strong confidence in the transaction. He argued that there may be.
Still, people close to Paramount and Redstone say a real estate sale is preferable to selling a portion of Paramount’s stake in National Amusements.
“I think the sales process is real and whether something happens depends on what’s in front of her,” said a source closely following the situation.
“She’s doing okay for now,” the source added.
National Amusements owns about 1,000 movie screens, but most of its value comes from about $800 million worth of Paramount stock.
The stock has super voting rights, but only represents about 10% of Paramount’s stock.
“I don’t think she’ll force anything in the near future,” the source said. “She can wait for things to unfold.”
Still, Paramount is in talks with cable provider Charter Communications about a new carriage contract, which expires in April.
Amid rampant cord-cutting, Charter could significantly reduce the amount it pays Paramount for programming, and there is speculation that other cable providers will soon follow suit.
