Paramount Receives Last-Minute Counter Offer

As Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners work to close the Larry Ellison-backed takeover of Paramount Global this spring, a consortium of investors who previously bid on the storied media conglomerate is mounting an eleventh-hour $13.5 billion offer.

Variety has obtained a legal letter being sent to Paramount’s board from Project Rise Partners, outlining a new bid that is higher than an all-cash offer the consortium made during the go-shop window. The group claims its terms are vastly superior to the $8 billion deal from Skydance and RedBird.

\The letter, prepared by the law firm Baker & Hostetler, notes that in light of “the market’s negative reaction to the Skydance transaction, PRP is now increasing its offer as follows: The offer for the B shares is $19 per share compared to $15 per share in the Skydance offer — a 75% premium and 27% more than Skydance. 

The PRP offer for the A shares remains the same as the Skydance offer. PRP will add $2B to the balance sheet. This is an all-cash offer with committed financing from credible investors.

The Baker & Hostetler letter — addressed to Paramount board members Shari Redstone, Barbara Byrne, Linda Griego, Judith McHale and Susan Schuman — states that the company’s Class B shareholders “would own 50% of the equity versus 30% in the Skydance offer. The PRP offer includes an independent board and normal corporate governance. The board committees Skydance plans to eliminate would be retained. B shareholders would receive a vote for the first time in the company’s history.”