Paramount Agrees To Merger Terms With Skydance, Private Equity: Report

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About half of class-B stockholders get $15 a share

A cyclist passes by signage outside the Paramount lot in Los Angeles.
A cyclist passes by signage outside the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. (Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Paramount Global and its controlling shareholder, the Redstone family’s National Amusements, reportedly have agreed to terms of a deal that would combine Paramount with Skydance Media, which is backed by private equity.

According to CNBC, Shari Redstone would receive $2 billion for National Amusements, which has 77% of the voting power over Paramount.

The deal also puts some cash in the pockets of other Paramount stockholders, with Skydance paying $15 a share for about half of the outstanding class-B Paramount shares. 

Skydance and private-equity company RedBird Capital will also put $1.5 billion in cash into Paramount, reducing its debt.

According to CNBC, the deal leaves Skydance and RedBird owning two-thirds of Paramount, with class-B shareholders owning the remaining third.

Paramount holds its annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday.

Redstone has favored a deal with Skydance, run by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Other bidders have made offers for Paramount, including Sony Pictures Entertainment, working with Apollo Global Management. 

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.