Paramount Global is pushing ahead with asset sales and bankers are in the house as it sets out to streamline and raise cash to pay down debt. Its three co-CEOs confirmed as much Tuesday at a company town hall with staff. Lots of things are being explored.
Deadline hears there’s early chatter about selling the Paramount lot and leasing it back, with an option to buy it again down the road. Related Stories News Paramount Global Co-CEOs Reveal Bankers Hired To Sell Assets; Discuss Path Forward At Town Hall Executives Is The Mission Possible For Paramount’s Crowded Corner Office? CEO Troika Settles In As Layoffs And Asset Sales Loom Paramount is not in the real estate business, and a sale could bring in $2 billion. As ViacomCBS, it sold the historic CBS building in NYC known as Black Rock for $760 million to real estate investment firm Harbor Group International in 2021.
Later the same year, it sold the iconic CBS Studio Center to Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management for $1.85 billion. Jeffrey Katzenberg pulled off a similar deal in 2015 when DreamWorks Animation was also a cash-strapped, publicly traded company, selling its lot in Glendale for $185 million to the investment arm of Sun Trust Banks.
The Paramount lot is an historic Hollywood gem and industry insiders were upset at the idea of private equity or other financial buyers snapping it up — a reason many backed the Skydance bid for Paramount . David Ellison badly wanted the lot. Apollo, which .