SkyDance Makes Another (Sweeter) Big for Paramount
Ah, Paramount. When speculation was swirling about a coming buyout of the Hollywood legacy studio last year, few could have predicted the rocky road to closing a deal- any deal- that would result. While Sony’s potential bid is still on the table, albeit revised to account for regulatory hurdles the company would face, it seems that SkyDance Media isn’t yet ready to toss in the towel and step away from a potential deal entirely. Brandon Blake, take a look entertainment lawyer Los Angeles at Blake & Wang P.A., breaks down the latest developments in this saga for us.
The State of Negotiations
Part of the problems Paramount is currently facing stem from a perception that the potential SkyDance Media deal would favor the Redstone family over the interest of its other shareholders, a perception which has created considerable bad blood for the deal both in-house and on the stock market. The company’s Class B stockholders have even threatened legal action over the original deal terms. Stockholders simply don’t want to see the Redstone family get a premium payout if one isn’t on the table for them, too.
However, given that SkyDance taking ownership would, pretty much, leave the company intact, whereas it is inevitable that some of its assets would be spun off under the Sony/Apollo bid, other players would like to see it come to fruition, if only to preserve Paramount’s massive Hollywood legacy.
A Sweeter Deal
In a last-minute attempt to improve the general perception around their bid for the company, SkyDance, with its backing from RedBird Capital, has now offered to buy out a number of the other stockholders alongside the Redstone family. To the tune of $3B more on the table.
Whether this will be enough to turn the tide on the negative perception of the deal, we can’t yet say. However, Paramount’s shares did close about 2% higher on the back of the news, suggesting some Wall Street interest in the new bid. At least one thing is clear- it definitely isn’t Sony or bust just yet. Despite SkyDance’s exclusive bargaining period having lapsed with no deal, they are clearly very much interested in making this merger happen.
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