Nearly 50 years ago, Barry Diller was chairman of Paramount Pictures. Nearly 30 years ago, he tried to buy the company but was outbid by media mogul Sumner Redstone. Now Diller may be ready to buy Paramount from his former rival’s daughter, Shari, who controls the company.
the The New York Times Reports Diller is considering a bid for Paramount, having signed a non-disclosure agreement with Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the company’s largest shareholder.
However, Paramount could be a smaller company by the time any sale takes place. Bloomberg Reported on Tuesday Black Entertainment Television (BET) said it is in talks to sell to a group of buyers including BET CEO Scott Mills for $1.6 billion, down from the $2 billion the company was asking for from the same group last year.
“We are delighted to partner with Diller, who is chairman and senior executive at IAC,” said Diller, who is chairman and senior executive at IAC. Fast company Paramount does not comment on rumors or speculation, and the company did not respond to a request for comment.
Diller’s interest in acquiring the media company is the latest in a long and complicated saga over control of Paramount. Just last month, David Ellison’s Skydance Media appeared to be on the verge of acquiring the studio, but that deal fell apart when Redstone ended talks.
the times It’s unclear how far talks between Diller’s IAC and National Amusements have progressed, the paper says. And it appears he’s not the only suitor these days. The paper reports that both media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. (the former CEO of Warner Music Group) and Steven Paul, the film’s producer, have approached National Amusements. Child geniuses And Ghost rider Privilege, they expressed their interest.
It’s also unclear what direction Diller will take if the deal goes through. Last year, he made headlines for encouraging studios to “redirect” their business Or face “catastrophic” consequences.
Diller had a long history with Paramount. He took over the studio in 1974 and is credited with revitalizing it. Among the people he brought in were Michael Eisner, who went on to run Disney, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who co-founded DreamWorks. In the 1990s, Diller led a bid to take control of the company, but was outbid by the elder Redstone. Sumner Redstone died in 2020, leaving his daughter Shari in charge of National Amusements.
Diller’s IAC company, among other media properties, owns magazine publishers Dotdash Meredith and The Daily Beast, Ask Media Group, and home service platform Angi. He personally sits on the boards of directors of The Coca-Cola Company and MGM Resorts International.
Paramount is poised to make a deal. In April, the company’s board announced the departure of CEO Bob Bakish, who had been adamantly opposed to a deal with Skydance. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins, CBS CEO George Cheeks and MTV Entertainment Group Chairman Chris McCarthy have all taken on elements of the CEO role as part of a leadership committee.
Redstone appears ready to sell but has embraced the moves made by the leadership committee. In May, Lightshade Partners analysts Rich Greenfield, Brandon Ross and Mark Kelly said: In a blog postThey expect Paramount to “move on its own.”
Efforts to sell the company have not gone smoothly. Warner Bros. Discovery was widely expected to buy Paramount earlier this year, but broke off negotiations in late February, effectively pulling out of the race.
In April, Skydance emerged as the front-runner, but that prospect collapsed in June. That opened the door to a $26 billion non-binding offer from Sony and Apollo Global Management, but the company showed no serious interest.
Media mogul Byron Allen has also reportedly expressed interest, making a $14.3 billion offer in late January, though he did not name any co-investors and the offer has not been discussed since May.
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