Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of film and TV giant Paramount Global, has reached a tentative agreement to sell her stake in the company to David Ellison’s Skydance Media, Bloomberg is reporting citing people with knowledge of the situation.
Skydance is holding exclusive talks with a panel of independent directors at Paramount as part of a provisional accord to buy Redstone’s family holding company National Amusements, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. National Amusements holds a near 80% voting stake in Paramount, the owner of several major film and TV properties including CBS and MTV.
A deal to purchase Redstone’s National Amusements would represent a major step forward in Ellison’s plans to buy the storied Hollywood company and merge it with his own film and TV business.
Ellison’s company, Skydance, has partnered with Paramount on films including Top Gun: Maverick. But an outright merger with Paramount would prove complex, and other Paramount investors might object to the terms. Paramount executives said during a March investor conference that their objective is to “create value for all of our shareholders.”
The potential terms of a deal couldn’t be determined, and any agreement would be subject to approval by Paramount’s board.
Paramount has attracted other suitors, including independent media mogul Byron Allen, Apollo Global Management Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
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