Paramount Pictures appears to be closer to finalizing a proposed multibillion-dollar merger, weeks after its controlling shareholder walked away from negotiations.
The future of Paramount Global, which also owns CBS, Nickelodeon and the UK’s Channel 5, has for months been the subject of fevered speculation in Hollywood. Shares in the media company rose sharply on Wednesday morning amid reports that the talks were back on.
Shari Redstone, the media tycoon who holds a controlling stake in the conglomerate, pulled the plug on advanced talks with Skydance Media last month. National Amusements, her company, said the two sides had been unable to reach mutually acceptable terms.
Late on Tuesday, however, Skydance and National Amusements were said to have reached a preliminary deal. Under the tentative agreement, Skydance would pay $1.75bn for National Amusements, which owns 77% of the voting shares of Paramount.
Skydance and National Amusements did not respond to invitations for comment. Shares in Paramount rose 9% during early trading in New York on Wednesday.
The deal includes a 45-day “go-shop” period, in which other bidders could submit offers, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
Skydance, the production group, is led by the producer David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, the tech tycoon who co-founded Oracle. It assembled a consortium of investors to buy National Amusements, and then merge with Paramount.
National Amusements is said to have referred the Skydance deal to a special committee of Paramount’s board for review.
Others who have expressed interest in National Amusements include film producer Steven Paul, Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr and IAC’s Barry Diller.
Paramount Global, formed when CBS merged with Viacom in 2019, has been hit hard by the decline of cable TV and the high cost of entering the streaming wars. Its shares have halved over the past year.
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The prospect of a blockbuster deal has loomed large over Paramount for months. Bob Bakish, its chief executive, departed abruptly in April following reports of tensions with Redstone.
Reuters contributed reporting