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Shares of Entertainment giant Paramount Global are up Thursday after announcing it would extend by 15 days a period where it's allowed to assess competing offers to its merger agreement with Skydance.
The company made the announcement late Wednesday after confirming that it had received an offer from Edgar Bronfman, Jr. of Fubo, the streaming company.
Bronfman has been the executive chair at Fubo since 2020, and is the former chairman and CEO of Warner Music.
Bronfman offered $4.3 billion for Shari Redstone's National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, according to multiple media reports this week, and upped that bid to $6 billion Wednesday. If accepted, Brofman would own a minority interest in Paramount.
Paramount, based in New York City, said that the “go shop” period for Bronfman will be extended until Sept. 5. There's no guarantee that the process will result in a superior proposal, the company said this week.
The special committee to Paramount's board has reached out to more than 50 third parties during the “go shop” period to determine whether they had an interest in making an offer to acquire the company, it said. The go shop period for those third parties expired on Wednesday.
Paramount agreed to a merger deal with Skydance last month. Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares through the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone. She had battled to maintain control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
Just weeks after turning down a similar agreement with Skydance, however, Redstone agreed to a deal on terms that had not changed much.
David Ellison is the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.
The proposed combined company of Paramount and Skydance is valued at around $28 billion. In connection with the transaction, which is expected to close in September 2025 pending regulatory approval, a consortium led by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital will be investing $8 billion.
Paramount is one of Hollywood’s oldest studios, dating back to its founding in 1914 as a distributor. Throughout its rich history, Paramount has had a hand in releasing numerous films — from “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Godfather,” to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Titanic.”
Shares of Paramount Global rose more than 1% Thursday.
