Skydance Media made an attractive offer to Paramount Global, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The new deal offers better terms and more cash for both Paramount shareholders, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter.
Specific details of the proposal could not immediately be determined.
A spokesman for a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors formed to evaluate such proposals declined to comment.
of First reported by The Wall Street Journal Improved offers.
David Ellison’s Skydance initially proposed a complicated deal to pay about $2 billion to buy National Amusements, the Redstone family holding company that owns 77 percent of Paramount’s Class A voting stock.
Paramount would go on to acquire Skydance in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $5 billion, after which the company offered a special deal worth $3 billion in a combination of share buybacks and cash to repay debt.
Rival Sony Pictures Entertainment, in partnership with Apollo Global Management, has also expressed interest in buying the US media company.
Paramount shares rose 2.3% on the news, to nearly $12.
