a new suitor Paramount Worldwide Already appeared.
Media mogul Barry Diller is considering buying National Amusements Inc., the company owned by Shari Redstone and Paramount owner, CNBC’s David Faber reported Tuesday The controlling shareholder of the film industry.
Diller’s international aviation committeeFaber said Tuesday that online media and publishing companies have signed confidentiality agreements and are reviewing National Amusements’ data room. Citing sources, he said IAC could make a decision in the near term to launch a bid for National Entertainment, which would give it a controlling stake in Paramount.
The discussions come just weeks after National Entertainment halted talks with Skydance over a proposed merger with Paramount.
After months of deal talks with a consortium including David Ellison’s Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR, the deal was scrapped pending Redstone’s approval. National Amusements, controlled by Redstone, holds 77% of Paramount’s Class A shares.
Before calling off the proposed merger, National Amusements had agreed to the financial terms of the deal, CNBC reported. Under the proposed deal, Redstone would receive $2 billion in funding from National Entertainment, with Skydance acquiring nearly 50% of Paramount’s Class B stock for $15 per share, or $4.5 billion. Skydance and RedBird also agreed to inject $1.5 billion in cash into Paramount’s balance sheet to help reduce debt.
Faber reported on Tuesday that the terms of IAC’s potential acquisition were unclear but would likely have to exceed $2 billion. New York Times No. 1 report Diller’s interest in Paramount.
Diller, 82, currently serves as chairman of IAC and Expedia, but he has a long history in the media industry, including serving as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures in the 1970s and 1980s. Following Paramount, he served as head of 20th Century Fox, where he greenlighted programming for the network, including “The Simpsons.”
Diller has been outspoken about the need for traditional media companies like Paramount to give up chasing Netflix Join the streaming wars and focus on broadcast and pay TV networks.
During last summer’s Hollywood strike, he said traditional pay TV was still profitable despite cord cuts — unlike most streaming businesses. He called on traditional media to re-establish traditional networks.
Diller tried to buy Paramount Pictures in the 1990s but went head-to-head with Sumner Redstone, the father of Shari Redstone, who now controls the company. Confrontation.
Since then, Paramount has changed and grown in various ways. The company now includes the movie studios, the CBS broadcast network, a portfolio of cable networks such as MTV and BET, and streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto.
Although other suitors have It is said The company has been working to restructure its business amid interest in acquiring Paramount.
Now, in the so-called Oval Office — where CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins Under his leadership, Paramount focused on exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, cut costs by $500 million, and divested non-core assets.
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