Skydance Revises Paramount Offer With $3 Billion Cash Infusion to Allay Shareholder Worries
The new terms would sweeten the deal for some non-voting Class B shares, an insider tells TheWrap
The post Skydance Revises Paramount Offer With $3 Billion Cash Infusion to Allay Shareholder Worries appeared first on TheWrap.
David Ellison’s Skydance Media has made a revised offer for Paramount Global in an effort to assuage minority shareholders’ concerns as the two parties exclusive talks are set to expire on May 3.
An individual familiar with negotiations tells TheWrap that the new offer includes a sweetened $3 billion cash injection as well as premium sweetener for a percentage of non-voting Class B shares.
The two-step deal would see Skydance acquire the company through controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s stake in National Amusements, which owns 77% of Paramount voting stock. The second step would see Skydance and Paramount merge to create a combined company valued at around $5 billion. Under the new terms, Redstone, who is already set to get a premium for her shares, could take less cash and keep more equity in Paramount under one scenario being discussed.
The new terms come as a number of investors have expressed opposition to the Skydance deal, including, Matrix Asset Advisors, Ariel Investments, Aspen Sky Trust and Blackwood Capital Management. Ariel’s founder and chairman John Rogers Jr. and GAMCO Investors Inc. chairman and CEO Mario Gabelli have also both previously warned that they could pursue litigation if the Skydance deal or any other bid does not appropriately benefit their clients.
It also coincides with the media conglomerate’s results for the first quarter of 2024, which are slated to be announced after the bell. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expect the company to report earnings of 34 cents per share on revenue of $7.68 billion.
Additionally, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is also expected to exit his role, two insiders told TheWrap on Saturday. According to The Wall Street Journal, Paramount will establish an “Office of the CEO,” composed of the company’s division heads, to replace Bakish on an interim basis.
More to come…
The post Skydance Revises Paramount Offer With $3 Billion Cash Infusion to Allay Shareholder Worries appeared first on TheWrap.