By Paramount and Skydance have reportedly agreed to terms of a merger according to CNBC.
The report indicates a Paramount special committee, and David Ellison’s Skydance (backed by private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR) has agreed to the terms with the deal now awaiting signoff from Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone.
Once signed it will then likely be announced in the coming days. It follows weeks of discussion between the two companies and seemingly rejects a competing offer from Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management.
Once closed, Skydance and RedBird will own two-thirds of Paramount, with class B shareholders owning the remaining third of the company.
The cost isn’t cheap with the total value of the deal said to be valued at $8 billion. The deal reportedly will see Redstone receive $2 billion for National Amusements which owns 77% of class A Paramount shares.
Skydance will also buy out nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares for $4.5 billion, and Skydance and RedBird will contribute $1.5 billion in cash to Paramount to help reduce debt.
The deal will not require a vote from the shareholders who will be a part of the company’s annual shareholder meeting taking place on Tuesday.
The number is considerably less than the $26 billion that Apollo and Sony were offering, but Redstone favored a deal that would keep Paramount together – which is why it went for Skydance.
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