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Skydance Media LLC is exploring the acquisition of Paramount Global and has now placed its bid for the takeover. The company founded by David Ellison and its financial supporters have submitted an offer, and people familiar with the matter shared this information with CNBC.
Skydance reportedly traded off preliminary information with Paramount Global. However, the entire due diligence for the deal has not yet started, as per CNBC.
Skydance Eyeing National Amusements
Skydance Media wants to buy National Amusements Inc., which owns over 77% of Paramount Global’s voting stock. But this deal’s success depends on merging Ellison’s company and Paramount; thus, Skydance offered to buy the New York-based media company first.
Moreover, the company has been working with KKR & Co. and RedBird Capital Partners to acquire National Amusements. This means that the merger deal with Paramount Global is an important stepping stone for the takeover bid of the Shari Redstone-led mass media firm.
Redstone is said to be mulling the sale of the company as the media landscape is changing and rapidly shifting to streaming. It was pointed out that while Paramount has been in the business for decades, based on the balance sheet, it is now a smaller organization than Netflix, Apple, YouTube, and Amazon, which have all launched streaming services catering to global customers.
Chances of a Succesful Buyout Deal with Paramount
While Skydance Media would need to merge with Paramount to acquire National Amusements, Deadline reported that Paramount may not be interested in selling its prized assets. It was suggested that buying Redstone’s stake in National Amusements could be a cheaper alternative than purchasing the entire company outright.
Meanwhile, the news about Skydance Media’s plans to acquire National Amusements and merge with Paramount first came out earlier this month. Today, sources said that the former finally offered to acquire Paramount to reach its parent company and potentially buy it later.
Photo by: Skydance Media Website
