Paramount Rumored To Be Taken Private By Skydance

(RTTNews) - David Ellison's Skydance Media and its financial backers are considering a potential deal to privatize all of Paramount Global (PARA), according to CNBC.

This move follows a preliminary offer made by Ellison to acquire National Amusements Inc., the holding company of the Redstone family, as a means of gaining control of Paramount Global.

The media landscape's shift away from traditional TV toward streaming has prompted Redstone to contemplate selling. While Paramount Global has been profitable for years, it is smaller than competitors like Netflix, YouTube, Apple, and Amazon, which have greater financial resources for sports and entertainment content.

Speculation about a Paramount deal has intensified due to the company's strained financials from streaming losses, the ongoing decline of linear television, and a weak ad market. The company is also planning significant layoffs.

Ellison has also discussed merging his Skydance Media with Paramount after taking control. Skydance is not interested in acquiring only National Amusements without the entirety of Paramount. Another possibility being considered is for Ellison and his partners to take all of Paramount Global private, a move that would significantly raise the deal's cost given Paramount's existing $15 billion net debt.

Both parties have engaged advisers and are sharing financial information, and Ellison plans to finance the deal with support from Skydance's investors, including his father Larry, as well as private equity firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR & Co. but the companies haven't yet decided if they want to move forward with the deal or not, the sources said.