Paramount Stock Jumps on Report of $26 Billion Bid From Sony Pictures and Apollo Global

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Potentially rivals offer from Skydance Media favored by chair Shari Redstone

Paramount studio gate in Los Angeles
Paramount studio gate in Los Angeles (Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer for Paramount Global, according to published reports.

Shari Redstone, whose family investment company National Amusements owns a controlling voting interest in Paramount, has been pursuing a deal with Skydance Media, which would pay a premium for National Amusements.

The Skydance deal raised opposition among Paramount’s other shareholders and led to the departure of Paramount CEO Bob Bakish.

Paramount stock, which has bounced up and down amid reports of bids for the company, jumped 12% Thursday on news of the new bid from Apollo and Sony.

A Paramount spokesman said the company wasn't commenting.

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.