Entertainment giant Paramount, which owns CBS and was behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun" and “The Godfather” has agreed to merge with Skydance, the companies said. The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion. “Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” said Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global.
Redstone's National Amusements owns more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares though the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone, according to data firm FactSet. Shari Redstone had battled to keep control of the company. Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years.
Those include several Tom Cruise films including “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series. Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. It quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year.
David Ellison will be chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount. The agreement still needs regulatory approval. The on-again, off-again merger arrives at tumultuous time for Paramount, which in an annual shareholder meeting in early June laid out a restructuring plan that includes major cost cuts.
The company also saw a leadership shakeup earlier this year. Paramount has.
