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Looks like Paramount really does have a second bidder
By Lloyd Lee,
4 hours ago
Media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has submitted a bid that throws a wrench into Paramount's deal with David Ellison's Skydance Media.
Michael Kovac and Mario Tama/Getty Images, Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Paramount announced a merger with Skydance Media in July.
The deal, however, had a 45-day period that allowed Paramount to seek other bidders.
Cue in Edgar Bronfman Jr., ex-CEO of Warner Music Group, who submitted an offer at the 11th hour.
Skydance Media's honeymoon with Paramount has just been put on pause, for now.
Hours before Paramount 's $8 billion deal with David Ellison's Skydance would have been cemented, a special committee overseeing Paramount's acquisition announced in a press release that it's considering another offer from media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., the former CEO of Warner Music Group.
Spokespersons for Bronfman and Skydance did not respond to a request for comment.
The marriage of the two companies was packaged at the time as the "New Paramount."
The deal, however, contains a 45-day provision, known as a "go-shop" period, which allowed Paramount to continue seeking other bidders.
In comes Bronfman Jr. who is now the chairman of Fubo, a sports streaming company.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday night that the media executive submitted a bid to buy Redstone's stake for $4.3 billion.
He has since upped his offer to $6 billion, sources familiar with the matter told the outlet on Wednesday.
The Paramount special committee announced on Wednesday evening, hours before the 45-day window would have closed, that the the company is extending the "go-shop" deadline to consider Bronfman Jr.'s offer.
Skydance now has until September 5 to sweeten the deal.
Despite the extension, Bronfman Jr. and his backers still face a potentially fierce bidding war.
Skydance is lined with the support of the Ellison family, which includes billionaire Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison .
According to The New York Times , investors in Bronfman Jr.'s camp include private equity firms like Fortress Investment Group and crypto investor Brock Pierce, who starred in the "Mighty Ducks" franchise as a child actor.
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