(Bloomberg) — Seagram Co. inheritor Edgar Bronfman Jr. is shut to creating a proposal for Paramount International, setting off a possible bidding battle for the movie and TV firm that owns CBS and MTV.
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As a part of his plan, Bronfman is weighing making a proposal for Nationwide Amusements Inc., the Redstone household firm that controls Paramount, in addition to an funding in Paramount itself, in accordance with one of many folks, who requested to not be recognized discussing plans that aren’t public.
The small print are nonetheless being labored out, the folks mentioned. A spokesperson for Bronfman declined to remark.
Paramount agreed in July to merge with Skydance Media, the movie manufacturing firm based by David Ellison, the son of Oracle Corp. billionaire Larry Ellison.
After months of negotiations, Paramount Chair Shari Redstone agreed to promote the household holding firm and its 77% voting stake in Paramount to the youthful Ellison for $2.4 billion.
Below that deal, Ellison and RedBird Capital Companions mentioned they might make investments greater than $8 billion for a controlling stake in Paramount and merge the enterprise with Skydance, which might be valued at $4.75 billion.
The businesses agreed on the time to a 45-day interval during which different potential bidders may submit competing gives.
Bronfman’s group is framing its proposal as a greater deal for buyers as a result of it gained’t embrace the dilution related to the Skydance merger.
His group has held talks with attainable backers together with Fortress Funding Group and streaming-device maker Roku, the Wall Avenue Journal reported. Bain Capital is not working with Bronfman, in accordance with one of many folks.
Shares of Paramount rose as a lot as 8.2% to $11.07 in New York. Credit score-default swaps on the corporate’s debt narrowed to 176 foundation factors from 184 within the prior session.
Earlier this week Paramount started the method of slicing 2,000 US jobs, a part of a cost-cutting drive throughout the corporate. Final week, the corporate reported a second-quarter loss after writing down the worth of its flagging cable TV networks by $6 billion.
(Updates shares, provides credit score default swaps.)
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