Paramount’s Game Board Now: New Players Abound

Shari Redstone went to the brink of selling her empire, then backed away, for now. The chaos has brought on more suitors — and deal scenarios — that the mogul is mulling

BY ALEX WEPRIN

Six months ago, a deal to sell Paramount Global (or at least control of the company via Shari Redstone’s National Amusements) seemed all but certain. Deep conversations were happening with a consortium led by David Ellison’s Skydance and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird; a partnership between Sony Pictures and Apollo emerged as a possible spoiler; even Warner Bros. Discovery kicked the tires over a holiday meal between CEOs David Zaslav and Bob Bakish. According to a source familiar with the talks, Redstone’s request for a “majority of the minority” vote, in which other Class A shareholders could vote to approve or nix the deal, was a nonstarter for Skydance, and the studio was anticipating a regulatory review of more than a year, which gave Redstone pause. Skydance had secured approval from Paramount’s…

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The Hollywood Reporter (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 19, 2024

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