Media mogul Barry Diller is exploring a bid for Paramount , The New York Times reports. The digital media pioneer’s IAC has inked nondisclosure deals with Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the company’s controlling stakeholder, the paper said. The Times said the status of the Diller-Paramount talks is unclear.
Deadline is working to confirm the news. Related Stories News With Paramount Assets In Play, There’s Chatter About A Sale Of Its Hollywood Lot Executives Is The Mission Possible For Paramount’s Crowded Corner Office? CEO Troika Settles In As Layoffs And Asset Sales Loom Diller, who became head of Paramount Pictures a half-century ago at just 32 and once was outbid for the company by Sumner Redstone, is looking to take control of the company, which reportedly was close to a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance before those talks fell apart three weeks ago. RELATED: Paramount Has Been On The Ropes Before; A Reminder How Creative Courage & A Suave Front Man Saved The Sinking Studio Diller’s interest is the latest chapter of the ongoing Paramount sale saga, which has seen suitors including Sony, Edgar Bronfman Jr.
and an investor group led by Steven Paul . Meanwhile, shares in the company have fallen under $10 — a record low since the 2019 Viacom-CBS merger. CEO Bob Bakish was ousted in April.
Since then, a three top Paramount execs – George Cheeks , Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins — have stepped in to run the Paramount Global as co-CEOs. At a company.
