Paramount Global Received $43 Billion All-Cash Offer from Unknown Apex Capital Trust, with Leading News Agency Reuters Unable to Verify Existence of Apex Capital Trust & Press Release Service Businesswire Removing the Official Press Release, Doubts Over Legitimacy of Apex Capital Trust Existence & Offer
2nd August 2024 | Hong Kong
Paramount Global had received a $43 billion all-cash offer from unknown Apex Capital Trust, with leading news agency Reuters unable to verify existence of Apex Capital Trust and press release services Businesswire removing the official press release from distribution. Doubts had been raised over the legitimacy of Apex Capital Trust existence & offer to buy Paramount Global for $43 billion. In 2024 July, Skydance Media (Ellison Family & RedBird Capital Partners) announced to merge with Paramount and invests $8 billion to create New Paramount & to acquire National Amusements ($2.4 billion). The merger price is 48% premium to Paramount Class A share closing price (1/7/24) and 28% premium to Paramount Class B share closing price (1/7/24). In the transaction, Skydance is valued at $4.75 billion in the merger acquisition, and the newly created New Paramount enterprise value is at $28 billion. Skydance was founded by David Ellison who is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison with $158 billion fortune.
“ Paramount Global Received $43 Billion All-Cash Offer from Unknown Apex Capital Trust, with Leading News Agency Reuters Unable to Verify Existence of Apex Capital Trust & Press Release Service Businesswire Removing the Official Press Release, Doubts Over Legitimacy of Apex Capital Trust Existence & Offer “
Skydance Media (Ellison Family & RedBird Capital Partners) to Merge with Paramount & Invests $8 Billion to Create New Paramount & to Acquire National Amusements ($2.4 Billion), Merger Price is 48% Premium to Paramount Class A Share Closing Price (1/7/24) & 28% Premium to Paramount Class B Share Closing Price (1/7/24), Skydance Valued at $4.75 Billion in Merger Acquisition, New Paramount Enterprise Value at $28 Billion, Skydance was Founded by David Ellison Who is the Son of Oracle Founder Larry Ellison with $158 Billion Fortune
12th July 2024 – Skydance Media (Ellison Family & RedBird Capital Partners) has announced to merge with Paramount and invests $8 billion to create New Paramount & to acquire National Amusements ($2.4 billion). The merger price is 48% premium to Paramount Class A share closing price (1/7/24) and 28% premium to Paramount Class B share closing price (1/7/24). In the transaction, Skydance is valued at $4.75 billion in the merger acquisition, and the newly created New Paramount enterprise value is at $28 billion. Skydance was founded by David Ellison who is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison with $158 billion fortune. Announcement (7/7/24): “Skydance Media (“Skydance”) and Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA) (“Paramount”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to form “New Paramount” – a next-generation media and technology leader, through a two-step transaction including the acquisition of National Amusements, Inc. (“NAI”), which holds the controlling share stake in Paramount, and subsequently a merger of Skydance and Paramount Global. The transaction combines the Skydance Investor Group’s (“Skydance IG”) financial resources, deep operating experience, and expertise in cutting-edge technology with Paramount’s iconic IP, deep film and television library, proven hit-making capabilities, and linear and streaming platforms that reach millions of viewers. New Paramount will be a premier, creative-first destination for storytellers, dedicated to top-quality content and will be positioned to improve profitability, foster stability and independence for creators, and enable more investment in growth areas. The transaction will stabilize and strengthen Paramount as a world-class media enterprise, with a focus on technological advancements, across multiple entertainment platforms including animation, gaming, film, sports, news and television. The management team of New Paramount, led by David Ellison as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Jeff Shell as President, will draw on a wealth of operational experience and proven expertise in driving creative and media company growth designed to improve Paramount’s performance and foster further advancement … … Importantly, the transaction preserves the over 100-year-old legacy of Paramount as one of Hollywood’s most iconic production companies and CBS’s stature as a cherished source of news and entertainment. It also preserves American jobs, fosters continued innovation and secures a prosperous future for the creative community at Paramount, while protecting the legacy that viewers across the globe know and love. With a 15-year history of partnering on highly successful projects, the Skydance-Paramount combination will unite key intellectual property and enhance Paramount’s exposure in cutting-edge and next-generation digital businesses. Skydance’s exceptional pool of in-house creative animation talent, led by pioneer John Lasseter, will expand Paramount’s animation capabilities as well as consumer products opportunities over the long-term. Skydance offers Paramount critical investment and significant entrees into burgeoning new entertainment and media verticals with clear economic upsides. For example, Skydance brings state-of-the-art interactive and gaming proficiencies, including two in-house game developer studios with industry-leading franchises, such as Skydance’s upcoming console games in Marvel and Star Wars and hit VR game, The Walking Dead. Skydance also brings an exciting partnership with the NFL, which complements the resources of CBS and its local affiliates, creating a premier global multi-sports studio. As a long-term global rights buyer with expansive distribution across both direct-to-consumer and linear channels, Paramount’s value proposition will be complemented as a result of the transaction.”
Transaction Overview – The proposed merger creates immediate value, upside opportunity and stability for all of Paramount’s stockholders and employees during a period of industry transition. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the Paramount Board of Directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee, and by National Amusements, Inc. (“NAI”), majority owner of Paramount’s Class A stock, Skydance will merge with Paramount in a transaction valuing New Paramount at an enterprise value of approximately $28 billion. Existing Skydance investors will receive 317 million newly issued Class B shares in New Paramount valuing Skydance at $4.75 billion based on $15 per Paramount Class B share. Skydance IG, led by the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners, will invest up to $6 billion to:
- Offer Class A stockholders other than NAI an election to receive in the merger $23 cash per share or 1.5333 shares of Class B stock of New Paramount;
- Offer Class B stockholders other than NAI an election to receive in the merger $15 cash per share or one share of Class B stock of New Paramount, subject to proration if Class B elections exceed $4.3 billion in the aggregate (approximately 48% of the non-NAI float as of the date of this release);
- Use the additional capital to paydown debt and re-capitalize the balance sheet of New Paramount to support strategic initiatives.
The merger consideration represents a 48% premium to the price of the Class B stock as of July 1, 2024, and a 28% premium to the Class A stock on the same date. Also, by continuing to own shares of the new combined company, Paramount Class B stockholders will have the opportunity to participate in the new company’s long-term value creation potential. NAI and its owners have entered into a definitive agreement to sell NAI to Skydance IG for $2.4 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Following completion of the transaction, only Skydance IG will hold Class A shares. Following the close of the transaction and the growth equity investment and assuming full participation in the cash election by Class B stockholders, Class B stockholders will own approximately 30% of the outstanding equity of New Paramount and Skydance IG will own approximately 70% of the outstanding equity of New Paramount.
About Skydance – Skydance is the diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high-quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The company first launched with Feature Films and has since strategically expanded to include Television, Games, Animation, and Sports, with studios in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Spain, and Canada. In total, Skydance’s films have earned more than $8 billion at the worldwide box office and include the box office record-breaking and Academy Award winning film Top Gun: Maverick. The studio’s other recent releases include Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts; as well as, The Family Plan on Apple TV+; The Adam Project and The Old Guard on Netflix, and The Tomorrow War on Prime Video. The studio’s upcoming film slate includes The Gorge, Mayday, and Fountain of Youth for Apple TV+; The Old Guard 2 for Netflix; and the eighth installment of the Mission: Impossible global franchise. Skydance Television is a leading supplier of premium scripted content across a range of platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+. The studio’s current slate includes the Emmy-nominated series Grace and Frankie, which became Netflix’s longest running series following the release of its final season last year, as well as Foundation, Reacher, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Cross, The Big Door Prize, and FUBAR. Skydance Games delivers blockbuster gaming experiences of all kinds and is known for high-quality visuals and rich narratives. Encompassing each of the company’s two gaming studios, the Skydance Games’ portfolio holds award-winning titles across console, VR, PC, and mobile, including Archangel and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and the upcoming Skydance’s Behemoth, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, and a collaboration with Lucasfilm Games set in the legendary Star Wars galaxy. Skydance Animation develops and produces high-end feature films and television series with full production capability across two studios in Los Angeles and Madrid. In addition to the studio’s first animated feature, Luck, Skydance Animation’s slate includes the upcoming feature films Spellbound, Pookoo, Ray Gunn and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project for Netflix and the series WondLa for Apple TV+. Skydance Sports, the joint venture between the NFL and Skydance, develops premium scripted and unscripted sports-related content, documentaries, and events. The Sports studios’ slate includes NFL Draft: The Pick Is In, Kelce, Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, and the Golden Globe nominated feature Air as well as an upcoming docuseries chronicling the Dallas Cowboys’ dynasty and franchise owner Jerry Jones and Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story for the Hallmark Channel.
About Paramount – Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA) is a leading global media, streaming and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, Paramount’s portfolio includes CBS, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Paramount holds one of the industry’s most extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, the company provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution, and advertising solutions.
About National Amusements, Inc. – National Amusements, Inc. is a world leader in the motion picture exhibition industry operating 759 movie screens in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America. National Amusements delivers a superior entertainment experience in theatres around the world under its Showcase, Cinema de Lux, Multiplex, SuperLux and UCI brands. Based in Norwood, Massachusetts, National Amusements is a closely held company operating under the fourth generation of leadership by the Redstone family, through which they have been the majority voting shareholders of Paramount Global for more than 35 years. National Amusements, directly and through subsidiaries, owns 77.4% of the Class A (voting) common stock of Paramount Global and 5.1% of the Class B common stock, constituting approximately 9.5% of the overall equity of the Company.
About RedBird Capital Partners
RedBird Capital Partners is a private investment firm that builds high-growth companies with strategic capital solutions to founders and entrepreneurs. The firm currently manages $10 billion in assets on behalf of a global group of blue-chip institutional and family office investors. Founded in 2014 by Gerry Cardinale, RedBird integrates sophisticated private equity investing with a hands-on business-building mandate that focuses on three core industry verticals – Sports, Media & Entertainment, and Financial Services. Over his 30-year investment career, Cardinale has partnered with founders and entrepreneurs to build some of the most iconic growth companies in their respective industries.
Leading Private Equity Firm Apollo & Sony Pictures Sent Letter to Paramount Global Board to Express Interest to Buy Paramount for $26 Billion, Software Giant Oracle Larry Ellison Son David Ellison Skydance Media Backed by KKR & RedBird Capital Awaits Paramount Review to Acquire Shares from Paramount Key Shareholder Shari Redstone
3rd May 2024 – Leading private equity firm Apollo Capital Management & Sony Pictures had sent a letter to Paramount Global board to express interest to buy Paramount for $26 billion. Software giant Oracle Larry Ellison son David Ellison Skydance Media (backed by KKR & RedBird Capital) is awaiting Paramount review to acquire Paramount shares from Paramount key shareholder Shari Redstone (Larry Ellison has a personal fortune of around $145 billion). In March 2024, leading private equity firm Apollo Global Management has been reported to offer $11 billion to buy Paramount Pictures which owns movies including Star Trek & Indiana Jones from global media group Paramount Global. Earlier in February 2024, Allen Media Group had offered $14.3 billion to buy $9.9 billion global media group Paramount Global. Allen Media Group is founded by Byron Allen in 1993. In December 2023, media & entertainment giants Warner Bros Discovery (21/12/23: $28 billion market value) and Paramount Global (21/12/23: $10 billion) have been in talks for a $38 billion merger. Warner Bros Discovery owns brands including HBO, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network. Paramount Global was formed in 2019 with the merger of CBS Corporation & Viacom. Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide. More info below:
Leading Private Equity Firm Apollo Global Management Offers $11 Billion to Buy Paramount Pictures Which Owns Movies Including Star Trek & Indiana Jones from Global Media Group Paramount Global, Allen Media Group Offered $14.3 Billion in February 2024 to Buy $9.9 Billion Paramount Global, Warner Bros Discovery & Paramount Global in Talks for $38 Billion Merger
22nd March 2024 – Leading private equity firm Apollo Global Management has been reported to offer $11 billion to buy Paramount Pictures which owns movies including Star Trek & Indiana Jones from global media group Paramount Global. Earlier in February 2024, Allen Media Group had offered $14.3 billion to buy $9.9 billion global media group Paramount Global. Allen Media Group is founded by Byron Allen in 1993. In December 2023, media & entertainment giants Warner Bros Discovery (21/12/23: $28 billion market value) and Paramount Global (21/12/23: $10 billion) have been in talks for a $38 billion merger. Warner Bros Discovery owns brands including HBO, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network. Paramount Global was formed in 2019 with the merger of CBS Corporation & Viacom. Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide. More info below:
Allen Media Group Offers $14.3 Billion to Buy $9.9 Billion Global Media Group Paramount Global, Warner Bros Discovery & Paramount Global in Talks for $38 Billion Merger
2nd February 2024 – Allen Media Group has offered $14.3 billion to buy $9.9 billion global media group Paramount Global. Allen Media Group is founded by Byron Allen in 1993. In December 2023, media & entertainment giants Warner Bros Discovery (21/12/23: $28 billion market value) and Paramount Global (21/12/23: $10 billion) have been in talks for a $38 billion merger. Warner Bros Discovery owns brands including HBO, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network. Paramount Global was formed in 2019 with the merger of CBS Corporation & Viacom. Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide. More info below:
Media & Entertainment Giants $28 Billion Warner Bros Discovery & $10 Billion Paramount Global in Talks for $38 Billion Merger, Warner Bros Discovery Owns Brands Including HBO, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network, Paramount Global Formed in 2019 with Merger of CBS Corporation & Viacom
22nd December 2023 – Media & entertainment giants Warner Bros Discovery (21/12/23: $28 billion market value) and Paramount Global (21/12/23: $10 billion) are in talks for a $38 billion merger. Warner Bros Discovery owns brands including HBO, Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network. Paramount Global was formed in 2019 with the merger of CBS Corporation & Viacom. Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide.
Media & Entertainment Giants $28 Billion Warner Bros Discovery & $10 Billion Paramount Global in Talks for $38 Billion Merger
Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others.
Paramount delivers premium content to audiences across platforms worldwide. We connect with billions of people—through our studios, networks, streaming services, live events, merchandise, and more. Our studios create content for all audiences, across every genre and format, while our networks and brands forge deep connections with the world’s most diverse audiences. In streaming, our differentiated strategy is scaling rapidly across free, broad pay, and premium.
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