Apollo Global makes $11bn bid for Paramount studio business, report claims

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Source: Amazon Prime Video)

Former Endemol Shine Group owner Apollo Global has offered $11bn for Paramount Global’s movie and TV studio business, according to a US report.

The potential deal would see the private equity firm take control of the content studio behind franchises such as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and Transformers.

However, it would not include Paramount’s US broadcast networks CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET, or streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The publication suggested that Apollo may look to partner with other companies to finance a deal for the studio, with the TV arm behind titles including Reacher and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan for Prime Video and The Haunting Of Hill House for Netflix.

This latest report comes just over a week since US outlet Axios said that Apollo was looking to acquire Paramount assets. Apollo, which sold its stake in Endemol Shine Group to Banijay in 2019, is the latest private equity firm to be linked with a move for Paramount assets.

Paramount’s owner, National Amusements, has already reportedly explored a sale of the studio to US group Skydance and investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.

WBD’s chief David Zaslav and Paramount’s Bob Bakish also met up in New York City late last year to discuss a potential merger but reports in February claimed that those talks had come to an end.

Meanwhile, US media mogul and The Weather Channel owner Byron Allen made a $30bn offer to acquire the entirety of Paramount Global in January.