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In a stunning reversal, David Ellison’s Skydance Media and the Shari Redstone-controlled Paramount Global have returned to the M&A altar.
The companies have reached terms on a revised merger agreement for Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. just three weeks after Redstone abruptly pulled out of a planned combination, a person familiar with the talks told Deadline. NAI controls almost 80% of voting shares in Paramount.
A special committee of Paramount’s board of directors, which was formed to evaluate strategic options for the troubled media company, is currently reviewing the updated deal terms, according to the source. The Wall Street Journal earlier Tuesday reported on the revived discussions.
Reps from Paramount, Skydance and Redstone’s National Amusements declined comment.
The proposal currently being considered would see Skydance pay $1.75 billion for NAI. That’s less than what the parties had previously agreed to for the first step in a two-step transaction bringing NAI under Skydance ahead of a full merger with Paramount.
The WSJ reported that Skydance and National Amusements also have agreed to a 45-day “go-shop period,” during which other interested Paramount bidders can make offers. Skydance has been pursuing a deal for more than six months. In more recent weeks, investment groups led by Edgar Bronfman, Barry Diller and producer Steven Paul have emerged as interested parties. Private equity giant Apollo, Sony Pictures and Byron Allen have also been linked with bids.
The reconciliation between Paramount and Skydance only adds to what has become one of the messiest and most erratic M&A processes in recent Hollywood history. Paramount, which was formed from the merger of CBS and Viacom in late-2019, has struggled mightily amid the decline of linear TV and the headlong rush into streaming, not to mention the adverse operating environment created by Covid and the 2023 strikes. With a stock price nearly one-third of its level at the time of the merger close and nearly $15 billion in debt at the end, Paramount has developed an intensifying need for a transaction.
