Skydance and Paramount merger reportedly back in the news after Barry Diller expressed interest

Nearly 50 years ago, Barry Diller was chairman of Paramount Pictures. A little over 30 years ago, he tried to buy the company but was outbid by media mogul Sumner Redstone. On Tuesday, it appeared that Diller might be ready to buy Paramount Global from his former rival’s daughter, Shari, who controls the company.

yesterday, The New York Times Reported Diller had been exploring the possibility of making a bid for Paramount, and had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Shary Redstone’s National Amusements, the company’s largest shareholder. However, the newspaper reported today that Redstone’s National Amusements has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Shary Redstone’s National Amusements. A preliminary agreement has been reached with Skydance. to acquire Paramount. The deal is said to still require approval from a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors. The details of the agreement are still unclear, but times Skydance’s offer to buy National Amusements is reported to be $1.75 billion.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Reported on Tuesday Paramount has been in talks to sell Black Entertainment Television (BET) to a group of buyers, including BET CEO Scott Mills, for $1.6 billion, less than the $2 billion it asked 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.

Today’s news is the latest in a long and complicated saga over control of Paramount. Last month, David Ellison’s Skydance Media appeared to be on the verge of acquiring the studio, but that deal appears to have fallen through when Redstone ended talks.

the times It’s unclear how far talks between Diller’s IAC and National Amusements have progressed, he said. And he clearly wasn’t the only suitor these days either. The paper reported that both media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. (the former CEO of Warner Music Group) and Steven Paul, the film’s producer, have made requests for National Amusements’ services. Child geniuses And Ghost rider Privilege, they expressed their interest.

It’s also unclear what direction Diller would have taken had the deal with Paramount gone 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 expected Paramount to “do it alone.”

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 leading candidate, 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.

Updated July 2, 2024: This article has been updated with news of a tentative merger agreement between Skydance and Paramount.