Veteran media exec Edgar Bronfman Jr. is continuing to explore a bid for National Amusements Inc., Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder.
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Paramount and Skydance in early July agreed to terms on a two-step deal that would see Skydance acquire NAI and then merge with Paramount. The deal, which calls for an investment by Skydance and its backers of about $8 billion, includes a 45-day “go shop” period, which is set to expire on August 21.
Sources familiar with the discussions told Deadline that Bronfman, the Seagrams scion who has held the posts of Vice Chairman of Vivendi Universal and CEO of Warner Music, has been doing due diligence and speaking with financial backers. Bronfman in recent years has helped run a venture capital firm for early-stage media startups and served as executive chairman of streaming pay-TV operator Fubo, among other pursuits. It is not clear, sources said, whether his proposal would resemble Skydance’s and result in a fully merged entity versus Bronfman’s group taking a significant stake in Paramount.
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Axios reported earlier Tuesday on Bronfman’s ongoing deliberations about an offer.
Another reported bidder, Barry Diller, recently said he was abandoning his pursuit, wary of the virtually “unlimited” financial resources behind Skydance, mainly CEO David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. In an interview with CNBC last week, he heavily implied that Ellison Sr., one of the world’s richest people, would be able to “pay the nickel more” if challenged by any other suitor.
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In addition to the financials, there’s also the matter of how Paramount would be run. David Ellison managed to persuade NAI’s Shari Redstone in large part because he and his backers, among them RedBird Capital, have pledged to keep the company intact. Other would-be acquirers like Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures Entertainment have talked about breaking up the company.
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Paramount shares were up a fraction in mid-day trading Tuesday, at $11.12 a share. They moved higher on the Skydance news three weeks ago but have fallen significantly since the 2019 merger between CBS and Viacom that created Paramount.
A Paramount rep declined to address the latest development in the media company’s months-long M&A saga. Reps for NAI and Bronfman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jill Goldsmith contributed to this report.
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