Shari Redstone, President of Paramount Global, attends the Allen & Co. conference. Media and Technology in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
David A. Grosjean | CNBC
Skydance Media is ready to withdraw from its offer Paramount Global Unless it gets a firm commitment from controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, following a recent offer from Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The exclusivity window for discussions between David Ellison's Skydance, which is backed by private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR, and Paramount ends Friday and will not be extended, people familiar with the matter told CNBC's David Faber. Paramount shares rose after the report.
The consortium was awaiting word from Paramount's special committee on whether the committee would recommend its bid for the company to Redstone. Now, with Apollo and Sony officially expressing interest in acquiring the company for around $26 billion, Skydance Group is looking to Redstone to reaffirm its commitment to the deal.
The Skydance consortium isn't keen on making a stalking horse bid for Apollo and Sony, one of the people said. However, depending on what Redstone says, Ellison may be willing to work with her, another person said.
Spokespeople for Skydance, Redstone's National Amusements and Paramount's special committee declined to comment Friday.
CNBC previously reported that Apollo and Sony made their final offer on Thursday. The sources said that the special committee is currently studying the offer.
As part of the latest Skydance deal on the table, Redstone may get less than $2 billion for its controlling stake in Paramount, which is less than the initial offer made by Skydance. The consortium is contributing additional capital to pay common Class B shareholders a premium of nearly 30% to the fixed trading price of about $11 per share, CNBC reported. In total, Redstone and Skydance will contribute $3 billion, the vast majority of which will go to Series B shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.
Skydance's valuation as part of the deal is still around $5 billion, the people said. Like Skydance's bid, the Apollo-Sony bid includes a control premium for Redstone, according to people familiar with the matter.
Previously, Redstone rejected an offer from Apollo in favor of exclusive talks with Skydance. Redstone favored a deal that would keep Paramount together, as is the case with the Skydance bid, CNBC previously reported. A private equity firm will likely spin off the company.
