Mario Gabelli , a major shareholder of Paramount and its predecessor companies for decades, is pressing for more information about the company’s pending merger with Skydance . Specifically, the investor and fund manager wants to get more financial data and better clarity on the valuation of National Amusements , Inc. Skydance and its backers are putting $8 billion into a complex, two-step transaction to first take control of NAI and then merge with Paramount.
The deal, which values Skydance at $4.75 billion and involves a $2.4 billion cash acquisition of National Amusements, is projected to close in the third quarter of 2025.
Related Stories News International Insider: Paramount-Skydance; French Political Impasse; Well Hello Dolly! News Sony's Out: Won't Return To Mix During Paramount's 45-Day "Go Shop" Window In multiple posts on Twitter/X, Gabelli touted what he called “Operation fish bowl,” evidently an effort to increase visibility into the transaction. The initiative “most likely starts today,” he said, adding, in the truncated syntax that is his social media signature, “today start gathering of data.” There was no mention of a lawsuit, but Friday evening multiple reports said he had made legal overtures to try to pry loose more information.
Puck reported that a complaint was submitted in Delaware Chancery Court, but the court docket did not contain a filing as of Friday night. Reuters reported that Gabelli had sent a letter to Paramount’s general counsel.