Good afternoon Insiders, glad you could be with us again because there are news pieces and deep dives to be read. Max Goldbart here. Scroll down for your weekly dose.
And sign up here . Paramount & Skydance Getting Hitched Getty/Universal Sneezes and colds: When the U.S.
sneezes, the world catches a cold, we are told, but things could be more complex when it comes to the Skydance-Paramount deal. Our learned business gurus in the States have been busy beavering away to bring you all the twists and turns from the proposed $8B deal over the past week or so. David Ellison, who returned to the M&A alter with Shari Redstone last week after initially pulling out, has been busy plotting a path to the future.
Ellison, Jeff Shell and RedBird Capital have been looking to woo Wall Street in recent days, my colleague Jill Goldsmith writes , pointing to $2B in running cost synergies and a streaming break-even in 18 months or sooner if a partner emerges. It’s worth remembering that Paramount’s past year or so has already seen cuts and layoffs. There is technically now a few-weeks-long period where Paramount could entertain other offers but Sony will not be one of them, we just revealed .
Shell will oversee the combined company under Ellison. RedBird’s $1.8B cash injection in the deal will be Gerry Cardinale firm’s biggest investment ever.
Co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy will continue to steer the ship for now, at least on paper, while regulatory hurdles are j.