Paramount opens M&A talks with Sony & Apollo, Skydance deal remains on table

Yellowstone (Source: Paramount)

Paramount Global opened M&A negotiations with Sony and Apollo over the weekend, after Skydance Media’s exclusive talk window lapsed on Friday.

The David Ellison-led Skydance is still in contention, according to US reports, with Paramount continuing its talks with the company, just now non-exclusively.

Paramount shares surged by 13% in after-hours trading last week, after Sony Pictures Entertainment and private equity outfit Apollo Global Management tabled a joint $26bn offer for the embattled US studio. The takeover offer would see the Japanese company taking on a majority stake while the private equity firm would hold a minority position.

Paramount has already rebuffed a $26bn deal from Apollo, but the latest proposal with Sony will also see Dune producer Legendary Entertainment – part owned by Apollo – involved. The development came after Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra held conversations with Apollo late last month with a view to making an all-cash offer for Paramount.

Rival bidder Skydance entered exclusive negotiations with Paramount last month, with plans to buy Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, which holds a 77% stake in Paramount Global, and then merge the studio’s activities with its own operations.

These latest moves follow the exit of Paramount CEO Bob Bakish last week and the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins to a new “Office of the CEO” to head up the company.  Bakish’s exit from Paramount followed his concerns about the proposed Skydance acquisition, which is supported by Redstone, who is primary shareholder and executive chair.

Paramount’s assets include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Showtime and the Paramount+ streaming network, and is home to the Yellowstone and Star Trek franchises. Its studio, Paramount Pictures, is behind the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun films.

Other interested parties have included Warner Bros. Discovery, whose chief David Zaslav met up with Bakish 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.

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