Private equity giant Apollo offers $11B for Paramount Pictures studio: report

Published

2 years ago

March 21, 2024

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Private equity firm Apollo Global Management reportedly made an $11 billion offer to pry away Paramount Global’s Hollywood studio, Paramount Pictures, from the rest of media heiress Shari Redstone’s debt-saddled company.

The stunning offer comes as an independent committee of the company’s board of directors reviews a competing bid from Skydance Media for all of Paramount Global — which also owns CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the Paramount+ streaming service, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

A rep from Paramount Global declined to comment.

Apollo, which has $512 billion of assets under management, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Apollo, led by Marc Rowan, also reached out to a special committee formed by Paramount about a possible takeover or asset purchases, Axios News had reported earlier in March.

Paramount Pictures, the studio behind such flicks as Top Gun: Maverick, “Mission Impossible 8,” and A Quiet Place,” was also of interest to Netflix over the past few years, The Journal reported.

Redstone — the media conglomerate’s controlling shareholder through her stake in parent company National Amusements — has been reluctant to part with the crown jewel of the company.

But under financial pressure, Redstone — who last month sold off a chunk of National Amusement real estate holdings in a scramble to make a $40 million debt payment, as The Post reported — may agree to break up the company to accept the Apollo bid.

Apollo’s $11 billion offer is more than the entire market capitalization of Paramount Global, which is currently around $7.7 billion.

Paramount’s shares rose 10% after the Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

The studio business is a draw for investors, given its expansive library that includes “The Godfather” and “Indiana Jones” and the demand for programming in the streaming industry.

At the same time, Paramount’s revenue from its TV networks — including BET, MTV and CBS — continues to decline because of cord cutting.

The deterioration of the global entertainment business has wiped out billion of dollars of value from the media company, formed through the hard-fought reunion of CBS and Viacom in 2019.

Redstone, the daughter of the late media mogul Sumner Redstone, considers the media asset as undervalued by investors and is exploring its options.

Last month, the company reported overall fourth-quarter revenue of $7.64 billion, missing analysts’ estimate of $7.85 billion, according to LSEG data.

The bid from Skydance Media, the production company run by David Ellison, would take Paramount private. Ellison is the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, who is expected to help finance the deal.

The financial terms for that offer were not made public.

Paramount has also held discussions with media giant Warner Bros. Discovery about a merger, and has discussed a streaming partnership or joint venture with Comcast, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Media entrepreneur Byron Allen had submitted a $30 billion offer for Paramount Global, including debt and equity, Allen Media Group had said in an emailed statement to Reuters late in January.

US

Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

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Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

US President Donald Trump has been awarded FIFA’s new peace prize at the draw for next year’s World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Mr Trump with a large golden trophy – formed of hands holding the earth – and a gold medal, which he wore around his neck.

The certificate, which Mr Infantino handed over at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center on Friday, recognises the US president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world”.

World football’s governing body, which announced the annual award last month, said it would be given to “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace”.

World Cup draw latest: Home nations and Republic of Ireland await fate

Mr Trump said it was “truly one of the greatest honours of my life”.

He said: “We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo is an example – over 10 million people killed. It was heading for another 10 million very quickly.”

He also pointed to India and Pakistan, saying, “so many wars that we were able to end, in some cases a little before they started”.

Ahead of the draw, Mr Trump told reporters he did not care about the prize, but noted that he had “settled eight wars” in nearly 11 months in office.

The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the tournament in 2026.

Mr Infantino, who has built up a strong relationship with the US president, backed him for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.

“This is what we want from a leader – a leader that cares about the people,” Mr Infantino said of Mr Trump.

The FIFA leader said to Mr Trump, “this is your prize, this is your peace prize”.

Mr Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum – in his brief remarks.

Mr Infantino has often spoken about football as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

FIFA has described the prize as one that rewards “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace, and by doing so have united people across the world”.

The award comes during a week where Mr Trump’s administration has been under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Mr Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel Peace Prize this year was eventually awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after receiving the prize that she was dedicating it in part to Mr Trump for “his decisive support of our cause”.

Technology

Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

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Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Environment

Podcast: Tesla texting and driving, Trump kills mpg, Aptera update, and more

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

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Podcast: Tesla texting and driving, Trump kills mpg, Aptera update, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla allowing texting and driving on FSD v14, Trump killing CAFE’s MPG standard, an Aptera update, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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