Paramount's special committee recommends Skydance deal to Shari Redstone: report

Published

1 year ago

June 3, 2024

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A special committee of Paramount Global’sboard of directors reportedly agreed to recommend a $3 billion takeover bid from Skydance Media — possibly bringing to an end the months-long drama over the fate of the struggling entertainment giant.

Skydance — run by tech heir David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — has offered to acquire Shari Redstones National Amusements, Paramounts parent company, for cash and then merge the Hollywood studio with his own shop, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Redstone has been weighing bids from several suitors and has not seen Skydance’s latest proposal, according to the Journal.

Skydance had offered the media heiress $2 billion for her 77% stake in National Amusements — which led to outcry from many of Paramount’s major investors that a merger would devalue their stock, as The Post previously reported.

Skydance, which is getting financial backing from RedBird Capital and KKR — reportedly sweetened its bid in recent days to appease Paramount’s voting and non-voting shareholders. It will now give $3 billion to that companys other investors in the form of cash and debt repayment, Bloomberg reported.

A merger would give Skydance, which has partnered with Paramount to finance such hits as Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One and Top Gun: Maverick, control over a treasure trove of movie classics including The Godfather, Forrest Gump and Grease.

Paramounts notable media subsidiaries also include the CBS Television Network, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and Black Entertainment Television.

Paramount did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The ball is now in Redstones court.

The daughter of Sumner Redstone must decide whether to follow through on the merger with Skydance as was recommended by the board or sell her familys holding company at a premium.

Redstone, who in the past has voiced support for a merger with Skydance, could also opt to sell her company to another buyer.

According to the Journal, Redstone has received an offer from Hollywood producer Steven Paul, who has reportedly been lining up financing to mount a $3 billion bid for National Amusements.

There is at least one other suitor who has signaled interest in acquiring the holding company, according to the Journal.

The decision is a difficult one for Redstone, who is keenly aware of her familys decades-long stewardship of Paramount and is intent on protecting the Redstone legacy, sources familiar with the matter told The Journal.

Reports on takeover offers from Skydance and a consortium of Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures, as well as a $30 billion bid from media entrepreneur Byron Allen, has left the stock see-sawing for months.

Paramount was down slightly after the board’s recommended approval of a deal, trading at around $11.

The age of cord-cutting and shrinking advertising dollars has had a negative impact on Paramount, which is saddled with $14.6 billion in long-term debt.

To make matters worse, the Paramount+ streaming service has struggled to turn a profit in a market that is hamstrung by fragmented audiences.

Last month, Bob Bakish resigned after Redstone’s long-time lieutenant clashed with her offer the deal with Skydance.

Paramount created a three-headed “Office of CEO” that includes CBS chief George Cheeks, MTV’s Chris McCarthy, and film studio head Brian Robbins.

The troika will lay out their strategy for the struggling company next Wednesday during a town hall with staff, according to an executive who spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday.

The all-hands meeting will follow Paramount’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.

Politics

Hadush Kebatu: Migrant sex offender deported after mistaken prison release

Published

30 mins ago

October 29, 2025

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Hadush Kebatu: Migrant sex offender deported after mistaken prison release

Migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu has been deported to Ethiopia following his mistaken release from prison.

Footage captured from Heathrow Airport showed the moment he was escorted on to a plane on Tuesday night.

The government says he has no right to return to the UK.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she “pulled every lever” to deport Kebatu.

“I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported. Our streets are safer because of it,” she said.

Kebatu was found and arrested by the Metropolitan Police in the Finsbury Park area of north London at around 8.30am on Sunday following a manhunt.

Last month he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a schoolgirl and a woman in Epping, Essex, just over a week after arriving in the UK on a small boat.

He was expected to be deported, but instead of being handed over to immigration officials he was released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday.

He spent just under 48 hours at large before he was apprehended.

The accidental release sparked widespread alarm and questions over how a man whose crimes sparked protests in Epping over the use of asylum hotels was able to be freed.

Ms Mahmood said: “Last week’s blunder should never have happened – and I share the public’s anger that it did.”

On Sunday, Justice Secretary David Lammy said an exclusive Sky News interview will be used as part of an independent inquiry into the mistaken release.

Speaking to Sky’s national correspondent Tom Parmenter, a delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu at HMP Chelmsford described him as being “confused” as he was being guided to the railway station by prison staff.

The migrant is said to have returned to the prison reception four or five times before leaving the area on a train heading to London.

Mr Lammy, who put Kebatu’s release down to human error, said he ordered an “urgent review” into the checks that take place when an offender is released from prison, and new safeguards have been added that amount to the “strongest release checks that have ever been in place”.

From Monday, new checks include five pages of instructions and demands that more senior prison staff sign off a release, according to documents obtained by Sky News.

“I have been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable, and we must get to the bottom of what happened,” said Mr Lammy.

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