Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS Sports, has entered into a merger agreement with Skydance Media valued at $8.4 billion. This intricate deal will see Skydance, the smaller entity, acquire Paramount's parent company, National Amusements, before purchasing certain shareholders' stakes and subsequently merging the two companies.
David Ellison, Skydance's CEO and son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, will take on the roles of chairman and chief executive of the new Paramount entity. Jeff Shell, chairman of sports and media at Skydance's investment partner RedBird Capital Partners, will serve as president.
Ellison's motivation is rooted in acquiring one of Hollywood's premier film studios. If regulatory approval is granted, Skydance will oversee CBS, one of the major US television networks, the streaming service Paramount+, and a suite of significant cable channels, including MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.
"This is a defining and transformative time for our industry and the storytellers, content creators, and financial stakeholders who are invested in the Paramount legacy and the longevity of the entertainment economy," Ellison remarked. "I am incredibly grateful to Shari Redstone and her family who have agreed to entrust us with the opportunity to lead Paramount. We are committed to energizing the business and bolstering Paramount with contemporary technology, new leadership, and a creative discipline that aims to enrich generations to come."
Negotiations between the two companies have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, as the Redstone family sought to sell Paramount amidst challenging market conditions. Despite remaining profitable, Paramount is grappling with declining cable revenues and the costs associated with transitioning to the streaming era, competing with giants like Netflix and Disney.
Reports last month suggested that discussions between Paramount and Skydance had stalled due to the complexity of the deal. Other potential buyers included Apollo Global Management, media entrepreneur Byron Allen, and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), which eyed a merger to better compete with Disney+ and Netflix.