After months of rumors and speculation, Paramount Global has announced details of its plan to merge with Skydance Media. Previous potential deals included a merger with Warner Bros. Discovery and more recently a total buyout all-cash bid which involved Sony Pictures and an equity firm called Apollo Global Management for a $26 billion. Instead, Paramount Global has announced that it has agreed to a deal reportedly worth $28 billion which will see the parent company rebranded as New Paramount.
The agreement involves Paramount Chair Shari Redstone to sell her family’s controlling stake of Paramount Global to the Ellison Family (Skydance Media) and RedBird Captilal in a multistep process to complete the deal. Skydance and its partners will invest $8 billion into New Paramount to purchase the controlling stake giving it 100% ownership, payout stock holders, and then adding funds to assist with Paramount’s balance sheet. A report in March from Blomberg had that debt at just under $15 billion. Paramount+, Pluto, CBS, and its other content platforms are all included in the deal and will see “enhanced and powered by best-in-class technology and modernized infrastructure offering scalability and ingenuity focused on delivering content,” according to the news release.
Announcement highlights (via official news release):
- Per Shari Redstone(Paramount Global Chair and President, CEO of National Amusements, Inc): “In 1987, my father, Sumner Redstone, acquired Viacom and began assembling and growing the businesses today known as Paramount Global. He had a vision that “content was king” and was always committed to delivering great content for all audiences around the world. That vision has remained at the core of Paramount’s success and our accomplishments are a direct result of the incredibly talented, creative, and dedicated individuals who work at the company. Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king. Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment. As a longtime production partner to Paramount, Skydance knows Paramount well and has a clear strategic vision and the resources to take it to its next stage of growth. We believe in Paramount and we always will.”
- Per David Ellison (CEO, Founder of Skydance Media): “This is a defining and transformative time for our industry and the storytellers, content creators and financial stakeholders who are invested in the Paramount legacy and the longevity of the entertainment economy. I am incredibly grateful to Shari Redstone and her family who have agreed to entrust us with the opportunity to lead Paramount. We are committed to energizing the business and bolstering Paramount with contemporary technology, new leadership and a creative discipline that aims to enrich generations to come.”
- Per Gerry Cardinale (Managing Partner, Founder of RedBird Capital): “The recapitalization of Paramount and combination with Skydance under David Ellison’s leadership will be an important moment in the entertainment industry at a time when incumbent media companies are increasingly challenged by technological disintermediation. As one of the iconic media brands and libraries in Hollywood, Paramount has the intellectual property foundation to ensure longevity through this evolution – but it will require a new generation of visionary leadership together with experienced operational management to navigate this next phase. RedBird is making a substantial financial investment in partnership with the Ellison family because we believe that the pro forma company under this leadership team will be the pace car for how these incumbent legacy media businesses will need to be run in the future.”