Paramount Global, a leading Hollywood company, have agreed to a merger deal with film studio Skydance after six months of oft-contentious negotiations.
The deal, which puts the company’s value at $28 Billion, will end Paramount’s links with the hugely influential Redstone family, as Paramount chair Shari Redstone steps away.
Who is Shari Redstone?
Sumner Redstone, the father of outgoing Paramount chair Shari Redstone, bought the company in 1994. Sumner remained a power player in the industry until his death at 97 years old in 2020.
Outgoing Paramount chair Shari Redstone has now green-lighted the sale of her family’s controlling stake in the leading Hollywood company.
Who Are Paramount?
Paramount owns Paramount film, and the TV studios Paramount+ and CBS — as well as the cable channels Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
Intellectual property owned by Paramount includes Top Gun, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible.
Who Are Skydance?
Skydance, a production company, is led by producer David Ellison – who is the son of Larry Ellison (the co-founder of Oracle).
Paramount and Skydance previously partnered on the releases of Top Gun: Maverick, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.
Who is David Ellison?
Ellison, 41, briefly tried his hand at acting before moving into production. He is best known for co-producing G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Top Gun: Maverick.
Prior to its new deal with Paramount, Skydance had seen its worth balloon to over $4 billion after receiving investments from the private-equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners.
More Details of The Deal Emerge
As part of the new merger deal, Skydance has agreed to invest $8 billion into the new company.
Additionally, Skydance will pay an additional $2.4 billion to buy National Amusements, the Redstone’s theatre operator which holds almost four-fifths of voting shares in Paramount.
Shari Redstone Speaks Out
“Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment,” said Shari Redstone.
She continued, “Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king.”
A Contentious Six Months of Negotiations
After months of negotiations, it had been reported in June that Skydance and Paramount were set to finally come to an agreement. However, such reports quickly failed to materialize.
At the time, National Amusements said both sides had been unable to settle their disagreements. However, last week it was reported that a preliminary deal had been reached.
Ellison Comments on Deal
“I am incredibly grateful to Shari Redstone and her family who have agreed to entrust us with the opportunity to lead Paramount,” said Ellison.
Ellison added, “We are committed to energising the business and bolstering Paramount with contemporary technology, new leadership and a creative discipline that aims to enrich generations to come.”
Hollywood Celebrates
Dean Devlin, who produced the movie Flyboys, which starred David Ellison, celebrated the Ellison merger. He said of Ellison, “He’s a creative first. He’s a fan, he’s an artist, and he’s a builder. In a time where the entertainment business seems to have lost its way, having someone like David take over a historic company like Paramount is the hope we need.”
Meanwhile, incoming Paramount President Jeff Shell said, “It’s been a long time since a creative executive ran one of the big Hollywood companies, and I think it’s really important when creative is the core working with the artists of our business, to have someone like David running the business. If you want into a lab and designed the perfect executive for the next generation of Hollywood companies, it would literally spit out David Ellison because he can not only go to a table read, but he can go into the next room and code too.”
