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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.

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Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Technology

Spotify paid over $100 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

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Spotify paid over 0 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify said Monday it paid more than $100 million to podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

The figure includes all creators on the platform across all formats and agreements, including the platform’s biggest fish, Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von, the company said.

Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” were among the top podcasts on Spotify globally in 2024.

Rogan and Cooper’s exclusivity deals with Spotify have ended, and while Rogan signed a new Spotify deal last year worth up to $250 million, including revenue sharing and the ability to post on YouTube, Cooper inked a SiriusXM deal in August.

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Even when shows are no longer exclusive to Spotify, they are still uploaded to the platform and qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, which launched in January in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

The program allows creators to earn revenue every time an ad monetized by Spotify plays in the episode, as well as revenue when Premium subscribers watch dynamic ads on videos.

Competing platform Patreon said it paid out over $472 million to podcasters from over 6.7 million paid memberships in 2024.

YouTube’s payouts are massive by comparison but include more than just podcasts. The company said it paid $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024 with payouts rising each year, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Spotify reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

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Environment

BYD now has the world’s largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

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BYD now has the world's largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.

BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil

BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.

The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.

BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

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Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.

BYD's-largest-car-transport-ship
BYD Shenzhen, the world’s largest car transport ship (Source: BYD)

The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”

BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.

The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.

BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).

Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.

Source: BYD

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