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https://lnkd.in/e6mfz6dj Paramount Global's potential deal with Skydance Media seems to be falling apart due to regulatory concerns and hesitation from Shari Redstone to sell to a private-equity-backed buyer. Meanwhile, a joint offer from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management faces similar regulatory hurdles, leaving the future of Paramount Global uncertain as it prepares to potentially operate independently.

✅🖥️ Yahoo Finance / Bloomberg (4/8): “Ellison is in negotiations to take charge of Paramount Global, the media giant that owns CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon. He and his backers have agreed to pay a little more than $2B for National Amusements, the family company that controls Paramount. But that deal won’t close unless Ellison can merge his production company, Skydance Media, with Paramount, and a number of hurdles stand in his way, including how to satisfy the company’s other investors. Ellison and Paramount’s independent directors have committed to a month of exclusive talks, a sign both sides believe a definitive agreement is within reach. They have already settled on the general framework of a deal that would value the much-smaller Skydance at about $5B. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Skydance’s valuation in the deal. With 77% ownership of Paramount’s voting rights, Ms. Redstone will be getting a premium price for the shares held by National Amusements, which also owns a chain of movie theaters. But other Paramount shareholders could see a great deal of dilution if the company acquires Skydance at the price being discussed.” ⬇️ #lineartv #streamingtv #programmatic #cinema https://lnkd.in/eY8Cv354

From Reuters: Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management, Inc. are discussing making a joint bid for Paramount Global, according to a person familiar with the matter. The companies have yet to approach Paramount, which is in exclusive deal talks with Skydance Media, an independent studio led by David Ellison, though some investors have urged Paramount to explore other options. The competing bid, which is still being structured, would offer cash for all outstanding Paramount shares and take the company private, the source said. Sony would hold a majority stake in the joint venture and operate the media company, and its library of films, including such classics as "Star Trek," "Mission:Impossible" and "Indiana Jones," and #television characters like SpongeBob SquarePants, according to the source.[...] Apollo would likely assume control of the CBS #broadcast network and its local television stations, because of restrictions on foreign ownership of broadcast stations, the source said.[...] Skydance is negotiating separately to acquire National Amusements, a company that holds the Redstone family's controlling interest in Paramount, according to a person familiar with the deal terms. That transaction is contingent upon a Skydance-Paramount #merger. #mergersandacqusitions #ownership #TV #TVproduction

I called this one. Basically it is $26 billion all-cash buyout of Paramount Global. This offer came from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management includes debt assumption and is above Paramount’s current $22 billion enterprise value. The proposal was sent to Paramount Global’s board, which is currently considering a merger proposal from Skydance Media that would keep the company public. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, has shown a preference for the Skydance proposal, supported by RedBird Capital Partners and KKR. I think Universal might potentially acquire Warner Bros in a similar fashion. Currently, many major film studios are in shits, with no immediate signs of improvement. I think we should expect mad summer. #hollywood #entertainment #film #filmmaking #tech #games #gaming #streaming #sony #wb #paramount #universal

Taking a look at Sony's bid for Paramount I noticed this sweet graphic from Chartr detailing where its revenue came from in 2023. The theatrical revenue was short of $1B. Some things this data makes me consider: - I didn't realize how little revenue came from the films that these production dynasties compared to the full picture of their offerings. - Paramount has always been a top creator of films in my eyes, but the shift to streaming has made them change focuses slightly. Here are just a few films Paramount produced, helped produce, or distributed in 2023 that make this number surprising to me. The existing IPs of many of these films are so valuable, so it may point toward moviegoers looking for less sequels/original concepts. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (co-produced with Skydance, Hasbro and others) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (co-produced with Entertainment One, Hasbro and others) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (studio credit, co-production with The Walt Disney Company and others) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (co-produced with Skydance and others) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (co-produced with Nickelodeon and others) Killers of the Flower Moon (co-produced with Apple and others) For comparison, Disney had box office revenues of $1.89B (Statista) in 2023. There's more revenue in TV for Paramount than there is in Films at the moment. Is Paramount putting too many of their eggs into this basket? Looking at this from a bidders perspective, do you make a plan to grow the film category? #film #streamingwars #paramount

Wow. Sony Pictures (with Apollo Global) might acquire Paramount (Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, Nickeldoeon, Showtime, Comedy Central, CMT, Flix, PopTV, The Movie Channel, SmithsonianTV, Nickelodeon Animation, TV Land). This is not a done deal, but is not a rumor. Wow. Just to be clear David Ellison's (son of Larry's Ellison) Skydance Media is still in talks with Paramount Global. Sony/Apollo now join them with deeper pockets. Paramount Global: Wikipedia: https://lnkd.in/gijAAr36 Variety: "Paramount Global to Pursue Simultaneous Talks with Sony/Apollo and Skydance as M&A Drama Drags On. Warren Buffett confirms Berkshire Hathaway has sold its Paramount shares: 'We lost quite a bit of money'" Variety: https://lnkd.in/gWz5yrfs #streamingwars #mna #industryconsolidation #mergersandacquisitions

From THR: The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management, Inc. made an $11 billion offer just for #Paramount’s #film and television studio. That is higher than the company’s $7.7 billion market cap when the story was published, and the deal reportedly does not include Paramount’s other business lines, like CBS , BET or the former Viacom cable channels. The fate of Paramount has been the talk of #Hollywood in recent months, with a number of potential bidders circling the company, as well as National Amusements, the Redstone family company that has a controlling stake. Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners and David Ellison of Skydance have held talks with National Amusements about buying that company (and thus gaining control of Paramount), while Byron Allen made a very public $14 billion bid for the entire company, albeit without financing details. Apollo’s bid is likely to be taken more seriously, with financing unlikely to be a problem. The question is what to do with the remaining businesses: Will there be buyers for the linear #TV networks or Paramount+? Perhaps Warner Bros. Discovery would make a play for CBS? Paramount Pictures

On Wednesday, it was announced that Apollo had submitted an offer for Paramount's film & TV studio for $11B (PARAA intra-day market cap at $7.679B). While shares jumped almost 12% on Wednesday, parent company National Amusements, which owns 77% of voting shares, noted they preferred to pursue a two-part deal with Skydance, where the first part would be an all-cash deal to acquire a majority stake in National Amusements, followed by a second deal to merge with Paramount. Shari Redstone, who controls National Amusements, is hesistant to break up the company, despite the fact that the film studio has long been viewed as the company's most attractive asset. Interestingly enough, PE investments in movies and entertainment hit a 6-year low in 2023 of $2.77B, down 73.5% from $10.46B in 2022. However, Paramount has long been viewed as a potentially undervalued asset, and Apollo's bid does not appear as unexpected when you consider their $760M minority stake in Legendary Entertainment back in 2022. The main hang-up seems to be Redstone's desire to ensure that Paramount's assets are not broken up and are kept together.

An interesting piece on the current battle for #Paramount. The best option for whoever takes over Paramount is to follow the #Sony strategy and become the "arms dealer" who monetises its content to the max, whether by selling to the highest bidder and / or monetising in ways such as premium short-form video. The idea Paramount can compete effectively with the other major streaming services is an illusion, not least because it does not have the balance sheet / cash resources. One other point which this piece touches on indirectly The Wall Street consensus is overestimating #Netflix's strengths given (1) its cash flow generation is minor compared with its peers; (2) it does not have an historical bank of content and (3) the ending of regular disclosure on subscriber numbers points to growing issues. As usual, this is not investment advice. Christopher Grimes Anna Nicolaou

INDEED....with the extreme fragmentation of media; a product particularly in a severely cluttered market (FILMS-holidays), has to truly breakthrough the clutter......thought I don't think this pertains to only film by any means....and brands can learn from industries outside their own (to me, that's key to building distinct image..step out of YOUR box...) #PARAMOUNT #GLADIATORII #MEDIABUSTER "On Monday at 9 p.m. Eastern, Paramount will debut a final 60-second trailer for the film on more than 4,000 television networks, digital platforms, local stations, Spanish-language outlets and radio stations simultaneously. Based on average audience totals for a Monday evening, the trailer could reach roughly 300 million potential customers, according to Marc Weinstock, Paramount’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution. “We aimed to create a big moment to match the scope and grandeur of Ridley Scott’s epic film,” Mr. Weinstock said. Marketing a movie used to require little more than buying ads on NBC on a Thursday night when millions tuned in to watch shows like “ER” and “Friends.” With the intense fracturing of the media landscape, however, studios have been forced to conjure up ever more provocative ways to grab attention. A single premiere? How quaint. Paramount staged “Gladiator II” red carpets in Australia, Japan, Ireland, France, Denmark and Britain in recent weeks. On Monday, a premiere in Los Angeles will involve the construction of a faux coliseum on Hollywood Boulevard." https://lnkd.in/eMBGenvV