Key Takeaways
- Paramount Global shares are rising premarket Wednesday following a report that the media giant is considering exclusive sale talks with Skydance Media.
- The New York Times reported that after months of entertaining offers from Skydance and others like Apollo Global Management and Byron Allen, Paramount may only hear offers from Skydance soon.
- Skydance has partnered with Paramount for years to produce films in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, as well as “Top Gun: Maverick,” among others.
Paramount Global (PARA) stock is rising premarket Wednesday after the New York Times reported the media giant is considering making its sale negotiations exclusive with Skydance Media.
Making the negotiations exclusive would suggest the sides are closer to a deal than previously thought. It would also cut out previous possible investors Paramount had negotiated with, including media entrepreneur Byron Allen, Warner Bros. Discovery, and several private equity firms like Apollo Global Management and RedBird Capital Partners.
The Times reported Tuesday Skydance founder David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, has met with the Paramount board in the last month to discuss his vision for a potential deal. A deal would reportedly involve Skydance acquiring National Amusements, the holding company that owns Shari Redstone’s controlling shares in Paramount, and then merging with Paramount, according to the Times.
Skydance and Paramount have partnered for years, with David Ellison’s company helping to produce several films with Paramount, including hits in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and “Top Gun: Maverick,” among others. In addition to its namesake film studio, Paramount also owns television channels like CBS and Nickelodeon, along with its streaming service Paramount+.
Some of Paramount’s negotiations have included offers to buy parts of its business like Apollo proposing $11 billion for the film and TV studios, but Paramount’s board reportedly prefers to make a deal including the entire company.
Reports around potential sales and mergers have been one of the few things keeping Paramount’s stock afloat in recent months, as the media conglomerate’s stock hasn’t recovered since a series of hits to its price sent it from around $100 to just above $40 in March 2021, when it was still known as ViacomCBS.
Paramount and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the negotiations.
Paramount stock, down nearly 20% this year, rose about 2% two hours before the market opened Wednesday. Shares closed Tuesday at $11.76 apiece.