In a holiday week shocker, Skydance Media and Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. have quietly renewed acquisition talks and have reached a tentative agreement to acquire Paramount Global . That deal will now be reviewed by Paramount Global’s special committee of its board of directors that has steered the media giant through its roller-coaster ride of M&A activity and speculation since late last year.
The new pact with David Ellison’s Skydance Media and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital is believed to include a 45-day period in which Paramount and NAI, which owns Redstone’s controlling share in Paramount, have the right to shop around for a bidder to match the Skydance terms. News of the renewed talks was first reported Tuesday by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. RELATED CONTENT: What Went Wrong: Inside Paramount’s Failed Merger Talks With Skydance Media National Amusements abruptly ended months of talks with Skydance on June 11, saying it had concerns about the ability for the company and its partners to close the proposed $6 billion transaction.
It’s not immediately clear if the economic terms of the new agreement have changed markedly from the pact that fell apart last month. A source close to the situation said Skydance still balked at National Amusements’ request that the company’s noncontrolling shareholders get a chance to vote on the deal. The hope was that approval by a majority of common shareholders would help indemnify Redstone .
