Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has made a move to acquire National Amusements, the entity that holds a controlling stake in Paramount Global, with a rival bid valued at approximately $4.3 billion.
Bronfman's bid comes after David Ellison-led Skydance Media and its partners entered a deal to buy Paramount last month.
According to Reuters, which spoke to a source familiar with the matter, Bronfman's offer includes $2.4 billion in debt and equity for National Amusements.
The proposal, revealed on Monday, comes along with a $1.5 billion infusion into Paramount's balance sheet, aimed at reducing its debt load.
The bid also covers a $400 million breakup fee, which would be necessary to terminate a competing agreement that Paramount Global had previously entered into.
As per the earlier deal, Skydance Media and its partners will buy out the Redstone family's controlling stake in Paramount and subsequently merge into the larger publicly traded company.
Skydance's deal valued Paramount, which owns Paramount Pictures, CBS broadcast network and MTV, at $4.75 billion and involved an all-stock purchase by Paramount.
But Bronfman's offer is positioned as a superior alternative because it would avoid the multi-step transaction required under the Skydance agreement, Reuters said.
David Ellison's company is backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital.
A special committee of Paramount's board is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to assess the viability of Bronfman's bid.
The board could potentially extend the go-shop deadline to September 5 to thoroughly evaluate the new offer.
Shari Redstone has the last word on any deal. Through National Amusements, Redstone and her family hold majority voting power over Paramount Global.
Meanwhile, Bronfman Jr. brings a rich and varied background in the entertainment industry to the table. He is heir to his family's Seagram's liquor fortune and an executive who formerly ran Universal Studios when his father owned its parent company.
Currently serving as the executive chairman of streaming platform FuboTV, Bronfman has a long history of influential roles in Hollywood, including a tenure as CEO of Warner Music Group.
His career has spanned diverse facets of the industry, from leading Universal Studios during its MCA-owned era to producing films and even dabbling in songwriting.
Bronfman's creative contributions include writing songs performed by music legends like Celine Dion and Donna Summer.
In the late 1990s, while at the helm of Universal, Bronfman was also known for his innovative thinking, such as proposing a variable pricing model for movie tickets based on the production budget of the film—a concept that was ahead of its time and reflective of his forward-looking approach to media and entertainment.
