Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) stock climbed during intraday trading Monday following reports indicating that the entertainment powerhouse had accepted a revised purchase proposal from Skydance Media.
According to CNBC, a committee of Paramount’s independent directors and Skydance’s buying group, which includes private equity firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR, have reached a deal. The agreement, valued at roughly $8 billion, is pending final approval from Shari Redstone, head of National Amusements, the holding company owning 77% of Paramount’s voting shares. An official announcement is expected within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Under this newly proposed arrangement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Skydance will acquire National Amusements for around $2 billion. Skydance, led by David Ellison—son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison—has also agreed to purchase nearly 50% of Paramount’s non-voting shares at $15 per share, totaling $4.5 billion. This price represents roughly a 26% premium above Friday’s closing price. In return, these shareholders will hold equity in the merged entity.
Furthermore, Skydance and its backers will inject $1.5 billion in cash into Paramount’s balance sheet to alleviate debt.
Upon completion of the deal, Skydance would hold approximately two-thirds of the new company, with non-voting shareholders retaining the remaining one-third.
Paramount is currently under the stewardship of an “office of the CEO,” comprising three division heads: CBS CEO George Cheeks, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy, and Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins. This leadership team will present their long-term plan for the company at Paramount’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) Stock Price Action
On Monday, PARA stock jumped 7.47%, closing at $12.80, marking a 7.02% increase for the week. The trading volume was 34,518,488 shares, significantly higher than the average daily volume of 20.58 million.
