Liquor scion Edgar Bronfman Jr. is preparing to bid for Paramount Global less than a week before an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media becomes official, according to a report.
Bronfman, the entertainment mogul and son of the late Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman Sr., is engaged in talks with potential investors about backing a bid for National Amusements, the parent company that controls Paramount Global, according to The Wall Street Journal .
The newspaper cited sources as saying that an offer could be made within the next few days, although they cautioned that it is possible that Bronfman would decline to formally submit a proposal.
Bronfman has until August 21 to make his offer, as that is the day when the “shop period” during which Paramount is allowed to solicit rival offers officially ends.
Paramount, which has embarked on a cost-cutting spree that has included shedding Paramount’s television studios as well as a major overhaul of the CBS affiliate’s flagship evening news program, would end up owing Skydance Media a break-up fee of $400 million if he opts for another offer.
The Post has sought comment from Bronfman and Paramount.
The entertainment conglomerate, whose properties include CBS Television, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the famous legacy film studio, announced on July 8 that it would be acquired by Skydance, the film studio founded by David Ellison, the co-founder’s son of Oracle, Larry Ellison.
Paramount announced it would lay off 15% of its workforce and write down the value of its cable networks by nearly $6 billion as it reported earnings last week.
The Skydance deal would mark the end of the Redstone family’s decade-long reign as Hollywood power players.
Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting stock through the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone.
She had been fighting to keep control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbusters like “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
However, just weeks after turning down a similar deal with Skydance, Redstone agreed to a deal with terms that hadn’t changed much.
“Given the changes in the industry, we want to strengthen Paramount for the future by ensuring that content remains king,” said Redstone, who is chairman of Paramount Global.
The new combined company is valued at approximately $28 billion.
In connection with the proposed transaction, which is expected to close in September 2025 pending regulatory approval, a consortium led by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital will invest $8 billion.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, Calif., has helped produce several major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and parts of the “Mission Impossible” series.
Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison and quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year.
If the deal is approved, Ellison will become chairman and chief executive of what is being called New Paramount.
Last month, Ellison outlined the vision for New Paramount in a conference call about the transaction.
In addition to doubling down on core competencies, particularly with a “creative-first” approach, he stressed that the company needs to shift to a “technology hybrid” to stay competitive in today’s evolving media landscape.
Sumner Redstone used National Amusements, his family’s movie theater chain, to build a sprawling media empire that included CBS and Viacom, which have merged and split up several times over the years.
Most recently, the companies rejoined forces in 2019, undoing the split completed in 2006. The company, ViacomCBS, changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.
Under Sumner Redstone’s leadership, Viacom became one of the nation’s media titans, home to the pay-TV channels MTV and Comedy Central and the film studio Paramount Pictures.
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