Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has submitted a roughly $4.3 billion bid to take over Paramount Global through the acquisition of National Amusements, the family holding company that owns a controlling stake in the media company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The competing offer for the home of Paramount Pictures, the CBS broadcast network and MTV is a fresh twist in a sale process marked by a number of unexpected turns.
It threatens to undo a planned acquisition by David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which signed a deal in early July. The agreement included a 45-day “go-shop period” that is set to expire on Aug. 21.
Here are the key events in the takeover saga
December 2019 – CBS Corp and Viacom merge to form ViacomCBS, combining mogul Sumner Redstone’s media units 13 years after a split. ViacomCBS acquires a 49% stake in film studio Miramax from BeIN Media Group for $375 million
September 2020: ViacomCBS rebrands a CBS streaming service to Paramount+ and launches it in international markets. Sells CNET Media Group to Red Ventures for $500 million
November 2021: ViacomCBS agrees to sell CBS Studio Center to private firms for $1.85 billion
February 2022: ViacomCBS changes its name to Paramount Global
December 2023: The chief executives of Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount are reported to be in talks for a potential deal between the companies
January 2024: Skydance CEO David Ellison reportedly explores an all-cash bid to acquire Paramount parent, National Amusements
January 2024: Media entrepreneur Byron Allen submits a $30 billion offer for Paramount, including debt and equity
March 2024: India’s Reliance Industries agrees to buy Paramount’s entire 13.01% stake in local entertainment network, Viacom18 Media, for about $517 million
April 2024: Paramount’s board reportedly agrees to enter into exclusive merger talks with Skydance
April 2024: Paramount replaces CEO Bob Bakish with an office of CEO comprising CBS President and CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Pictures studio chief Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy, head of Showtime, MTV and other networks
June 2024: Edgar Bronfman Jr, former chairman of Warner Music, reportedly expresses an interest in buying National Amusements, Paramount’s controlling shareholder
June 2024: Sumner’s daughter and National Amusements President Shari Redstone abruptly ends talks with Skydance
July 2024: Barry Diller’s digital media conglomerate, IAC, reportedly explores a bid for Paramount and enters into non-disclosure agreements with National Amusements
July 2024: National Amusements reportedly reaches a preliminary deal to sell its controlling interest in Paramount to Skydance
July 2024: Skydance Media and Paramount agree to merge in a two-step process, offering shareholders $4.5 billion in cash or stock
August 2024: Paramount says it wrote down the value of its cable networks by nearly $6 billion and that it would cut 15% of its US workforce
—Priyanka.G, Yuvraj Malik and Akash Sriram, Reuters