A storied movie studio and broadcast network are poised for a generational changing of the guard that could dramatically reshape the entertainment business. Shari Redstone and her family on Tuesday accepted tech scion David Ellison’s proposed $2.4-billion purchase of their investment firm, National Amusements Inc.
, commonly known as NAI, which owns the controlling shares of beleaguered media company Paramount Global. The Redstone family submitted the offer from Ellison’s Skydance Media to Paramount’s special board committee, which now must accept or reject it. The struggling media giant owns CBS, the Paramount Pictures film studio and cable channels MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
On Wednesday, Paramount board members began evaluating the offer, a version of which they came close to approving three weeks ago before Redstone got cold feet and called off the talks. Now the question hangs over the company: Is the deal for real this time, and what happens once it closes? “It’s feeling a lot like Groundhog Day,” analyst Jamie Lumley of research firm Third Bridge said in an emailed statement. “Renewed hope that both parties will be able to get a deal over the line is being tempered by concerns that we’ve been here before and it’s unclear whether all outstanding issues have been addressed.
” The prize now finally feels within reach for Ellison, the 41-year-old son of billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corp. The breakthrough came this week after m.