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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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Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

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Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India, killing seven people

A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims has crashed in India, killing seven people on board.

The accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.

The helicopter was flying to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

It comes three days after an Air India flight crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, killing at least 270 people.

The helicopter, which was operated by private helicopter service Aryan Aviation, went down in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5.30am local time.

Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.

Authorities say they have launched a search and rescue operation and are expected to review operational protocols for flights in the region.

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The dead include the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, according to officials. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said.

Smoke and debris at the crash site. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Smoke and debris at the site. Pic: Reuters

Tens of thousands of pilgrims visit Kedarnath, which is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines, each summer. Many use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain.

Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks.

Earlier this month, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing shortly after taking off on a highway due to a technical fault. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed.

In May, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived.

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Brazil ends crypto tax exemption, imposes 17.5% flat rate on gains

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Brazil ends crypto tax exemption, imposes 17.5% flat rate on gains

Brazil ends crypto tax exemption, imposes 17.5% flat rate on gains

Brazil scraps crypto tax exemption for small traders, enforces flat 17.5% rate across all gains, including self-custody and offshore holdings.

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Sports

Ohtani blasts two HRs to halt 10-game drought

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Ohtani blasts two HRs to halt 10-game drought

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit two homers in an 11-5 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, emphatically ending the three-time MVP’s longest homer drought since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with his 24th homer, hammering Landen Roupp‘s fourth pitch 419 feet deep into the right-field bleachers with an exit velocity of 110.3 mph.

The slugger had been in a 10-game homer drought since June 2, going 10-for-40 in that stretch with no RBIs, although he still had an eight-game hitting streak during his power outage.

Ohtani led off the sixth with his 25th homer, sending Tristan Beck‘s breaking ball outside the strike zone into the bleachers in right. He also moved one homer behind the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the overall major league lead.

Dodgers fans brought him home with a standing ovation as Ohtani produced his third multihomer game of the season and the 22nd of his career.

Ohtani reached base four times and scored three runs in his first four at-bats, drawing two walks to go with his two homers.

Ohtani hadn’t played in 10 straight games without hitting a homer since 2023 in the final 10 games of his six-year tenure with the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani had slowed down a bit over the past two weeks after he was named the NL Player of the Month for May with a formidable performance, racking up 15 homers and 28 RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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