Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures Entertainment have put forward a joint proposal to take over Paramount Global. Valued at $26 billion in cash, this proposal comes after Paramount's deal with Skydance was halted, as reported by the New York Times.
The termination of Paramount's agreement with Skydance was announced by Paramount's special committee when the exclusivity period ended last week without finalizing a deal. The original plan involved the Hollywood studio acquiring a controlling stake from Shari Redstone, a key Paramount stakeholder, to merge the two companies.
Under Skydance's proposal, the studio and Redstone intended to inject $3 billion into the business and buyout common, Class B shareholders at a premium of nearly 30% based on the undisturbed share price of around $11, according to CNBC.
Previously, Redstone had refused Apollo's initial proposal, favoring the Skydance deal to maintain company unity. Nonetheless, the recent bid from Apollo and Sony appears to offer a positive turn of events for Paramount. The media giant is currently grappling with a $14.6 billion debt, a first-quarter loss of $286 million, and a management restructuring, which saw CEO Bob Bakish replaced with three division heads last week.
