Paramount Global, Skydance End Exclusive Deal Talks

Paramount Global will end exclusive negotiations with Skydance Media without a deal, according to a person familiar with the discussions, allowing it to evaluate a rival bid for the home of "Mission: Impossible" and "SpongeBob SquarePants".

Reuters reports a special committee of the Paramount board, created to evaluate offers for the company, has been holding exclusive deal talks with Skydance Media. That period of exclusivity was due to end at midnight eastern U.S. time on Friday.

An eleventh-hour overture from Sony Pictures Entertainment and private equity firm Apollo Global Management expressing interest in acquiring Paramount Global complicated negotiations, another person familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The companies submitted a non-binding offer letter on Wednesday, signed by Sony Pictures Chief Executive Tony Vinciquerra and Apollo partner Aaron Sobel, a source confirmed to Reuters. The $26 billion offer is a combination of cash and assumption of debt.

That may have forced the special committee's hand, especially after some shareholders raised concerns about the deal with David Ellison's Skydance and have urged Paramount to consider other offers, including the one from Apollo.

A source close to the Redstone family said Shari Redstone, who controls the Paramount media empire, would support the special committee's consideration of a possible Sony-Apollo transaction or any deal that would benefit shareholders.

Paramount's special committee is set to meet on Saturday to discuss the deal, the New York Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the company's plans.