The Paramount merger saga is only heating up, as the entertainment giant continues to entertain multiple offers.
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Reuters, citing a source familiar, reports that Paramount Global will not extend its exclusive merger discussions with SkyDance Media, the film production company led by David Ellison, when it expires Friday. Skydance has proposed to pay more than $2 billion for National Amusements, Paramount’s parent company, and have Ellison lead the merged entity.
The move comes just two days after Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management submitted a $26 billion all-cash offer to start discussions about acquiring the company. Sony would have a majority stake in the proposed merged entity and operate Paramount, which has an extensive film and television library, Reuters reports.
On Monday, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish stepped down from the company. He had been Viacom’s CEO since 2016 and has led Paramount Global since the merger between Viacom and CBS was completed in December 2019.
Bakish has been replaced by an “office of the CEO” made up of three division heads at the company. That new office includes CBS CEO George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, the CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins.
CNBC reported that Bakish had privately expressed concerns about the Skydance deal, saying it could dilute common shares of the company. Four Paramount directors — including former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff and former Sony entertainment president Nicole Seligman — are expected to resign, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
Major shareholders have been highly critical of the Skydance deal, arguing that it overly favors National Amusements CEO and Paramount chair Shari Redstone. (Among the shareholder letters landing on Paramount’s doorstep: they believe the entertainment giant is puppeteering “organized schemes,” the merger is doomed under a “silver-spooned” nepo-hire, and an “avalanche of litigation” could soon be careening the company’s way.)
Paramount stock is up 3% in midday trading Friday. Since Monday, the stock has gained 14%.
Bruce Gil contributed to this story.
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