The Strategist

Skydance movie studio plans to buy all shares of Paramount



01/26/2024 - 02:13



The American media business Skydance is thinking about purchasing all of its larger rival Paramount Global's shares in order to delist them later, reports CNBC citing sources.



Loren Javier
Loren Javier
The sources state that the corporations have not started the due diligence process, despite exchanging preliminary information.

The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-January, citing sources, that Skydance and its financial backers intend to acquire a majority share in National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount Pictures. KKR & Co. and RedBird Capital Partners are among the partners. 77% of Paramount's voting shares are owned by National Amusements.

According to the sources, the deal's ultimate objective is probably to combine Skydance and Paramount, which would necessitate repurchasing all of Paramount's stock. Skydance would not benefit from purchasing exclusively National Amusements' stocks, they added.

Skydance will require substantial financial resources to execute the transaction, as Paramount has a $ 8.2 billion capitalization and a $ 15 billion debt load. Billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Skydance CEO David Ellison and the creator of Oracle, may provide a portion of the funds.

source: cnbc.com