Jul 2, 2024 - Business

Skydance and Paramount reach new deal

Illustration of an engagement ring wrapped around a film reel — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Skydance has reached a preliminary deal to purchase National Amusements and merge with Paramount, Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: This is an about-face for National Amusements owner, Shari Redstone, who ended earlier talks with Skydance last month.

Zoom in: The two sides reached an agreement on a deal that will now go to the special committee of Paramount board members for approval, a source with knowledge of the negotiations tells Axios.

Skydance will pay $1.75 billion for National Amusements and the companies agreed to a 45-day "go-shop period" in which other bidders can make offers, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
National Amusements isn't requiring that the Paramount merger be approved by a majority of the non-Redstone shareholders, which was at issue in the prior discussions, per the WSJ.

Catch up quick: There has been no shortage of potential suiters, with Barry Diller reportedly weighing an offer according to a NYT report just earlier on Tuesday. Apollo and Sony, and Warner Bros. Discovery have also shown interest over the past months.

Skydance, National Amusements and representatives for the special committee have not responded to requests for comment.

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Skydance and Paramount reach new deal

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