After weeks of negotiations, media companies Paramount and Skydance have agreed to the terms of a merger, with an announcement of an $8 billion deal potentially coming in the next few days.
Before being finalized, the merger terms have to be approved by Shari Redstone of National Amusements, which own more than three-quarters of class A paramount shares. Paramount shareholders, who will meet on Tuesday, will not be required to vote on the deal.
If the deal goes through, Skydance would purchase nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 each—totaling $4.5 billion—and the shareholders will own one-third of the company, while Skydance and one of its private equity firms, RedBird, would own the other two-thirds. Redstone will receive $2 billion for National Amusements. Additionally, Skydance and RedBird will contribute $1.5 billion in cash to help reduce Paramount’s debt.
Early last month, both Apollo and Sony showed interest in purchasing Paramount in a $26 billion deal. However, both planned to break up the company, and Redstone preferred a deal that would keep it together.
