Skydance, Paramount, Redstone National Entertainment deal resumes | Wilnesh News

David Ellison’s Skydance has struck a preliminary merger deal with Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Paramountreviving a deal that fell through weeks ago, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Controlling shareholder National Entertainment has submitted the deal to Paramount’s special committee, according to people familiar with the matter. A Paramount special committee is currently reviewing and voting on the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. A Paramount spokesman declined to comment.

Paramount shares soared 9% after the news broke.

According to a person familiar with the matter, Redstone’s consideration will be reduced by US$1.75 billion after trading resumes. Other financial terms of the deal previously reported by CNBC will remain unchanged: Skydance will acquire approximately half of Paramount’s controlling shares for $15 per share, for a total price of $4.5 billion and contribute to Paramount’s balance sheet $1.5 billion.

Redstone withdrew his original bid in June as it neared the finish line. One of the reasons Redstone reworked the deal was because she felt Skydance was asking her to pay hundreds of millions less than she had previously agreed to pay, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The termination process already resulted in the departure of Chief Executive Bob Bakish earlier this year, leaving a three-person executive office to run the company. Other interested bidders include private equity firms Apollo and sonyand the recent plea from media group chairman Barry Diller international aviation committee and former Paramount executives.

The preliminary agreement was first made by New York Times and wall street journal.

—CNBC’s Julia Boorstin contributed to this report.