Paramount Global (PARA) stock jumped Wednesday after media entrepreneur Byron Allen offered $30 billion for the company’s outstanding stock and debt.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Allen Media Group said, in part, “This $30 billion offer, which includes debt and equity, is the best solution for all of the Paramount Global shareholders, and the bid should be taken seriously and pursued.”
According to Bloomberg, the deal would involve Allen paying $28.58 per voting share and $21.53 for each non-voting share. That brings the total value of outstanding shares to $14.3 billion.
The remainder of the $30 billion offer would go toward existing debt. The bid by Allen Media Group comes a little more than a month after Allen reiterated a $3.5 billion offer to purchase BET Media Group.
Allen isn’t the only interested party sizing up Paramount. Just last month, Paramount Global Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish met with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav to discuss a potential merger.
At the time, it was reported that both companies had enlisted bankers but the talks were in very preliminary stages. Paramount has also been negotiating with Skydance Media, which seeks to take the company private. Skydance CEO David Ellison has been working for several months to acquire controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s preferred voting shares, which are owned by the Redstone family holding company National Amusements.
Industry analysts were split on the deal. Allen Media Group declined to name its “strategic partners” in financing the deal, which MoffettNathanson analysts said in a research note casts “a shadow on the offer’s credibility.”
MoffettNathanson analysts were also skeptical of Allen’s business plan for the company, which would sell off the company’s movie studio Paramount Pictures and real estate in favor of optimizing the company’s linear television offerings and streaming service.
Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall was more optimistic about Allen’s offer, saying the business plan was “credible” thanks to its focus on B shareholders and better potential for an acquisition and breakup. Allen’s focus on B shareholders, rather than Redstone’s controlling A shares, could push the board to “explore options that benefit everyone,” Cahall reportedly said.
The analyst also pointed out that other interested parties would like to buy Paramount for its film studio and sell off the company’s declining linear assets; by taking the opposite position, Allen is much more likely to execute a favorable sale of Paramount Pictures, he wrote.
At about 12:50 p.m. ET Wednesday, Paramount Global stock was up 8.8% at $14.89. The stock has lost more than a third of its value over the past year.
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