Paramount committee reportedly recommends revised Skydance offer

Source: Alamy.com

Paramount’s special committee of directors has reportedly recommended a revised offer from David Ellison’s Skydance Media, giving chair and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone the last word on whether to accept the offer.

According to the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, the new offer Skydance, backed by private equity outfits Redbird and KKR, which would see less paid to Redstone’s National Amusements and more to other shareholders than the previous iteration, has been backed by the special committee representing shareholders’ interests that must made a recommendation to the board.

The board will now vote on the deal at its meeting tomorrow.

According to weekend media reports, the revised deal, first details of which were reported last Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, will see non-voting shareholders receive US$15 a share, a 26% premium on the company’s share price on Friday.

Redstone’s National Amusements controls 77% of Paramount’s voting shares, but only about 10% of its stock. The Skydance proposal would see the production outfit acquire that company first, before injecting cash into Paramount itself, which would then acquire Skydance.

Private equity outfit Apollo and Sony launched a US$26 billion rival bid two weeks ago, but this bid is seen as more likely to face regulatory hurdles.

According to the WSJ, Hollywood producer Steven Paul has also been putting together financing to make a US$3 billion offer for National Amusements.