(Bloomberg) — The Redstone family and independent film producer David Ellison have both made concessions to make a potential change of control at Paramount Global more attractive to the company’s other investors, according to a person familiar with the talks.
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Ellison is proposing to buy a block of Paramount shares at a premium to the current price to shore up the company’s finances, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Redstones, who own the majority of the company’s voting shares, have agreed to allow non-voting shareholders to have a say in approving a transaction. Both sides are trying to seal a deal in the face of a major shareholder revolt.
Skydance’s offer was described as the “best and final offer” by several parties on Sunday. Paramount’s board is still undecided about whether to strike a deal with Ellison amid opposition from other investors. Meanwhile, CEO Bob Bakish is expected to be replaced on an interim basis by a leadership committee as early as Monday.
Skydance and Paramount declined to comment.
Ellison, the son of Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, held exclusive discussions with an independent committee of Paramount directors about a possible transaction. His offer includes buying the majority stake in Paramount held by the Redstone family and merging his Skydance Media with the company.
Although the deal was never officially announced, it faced opposition from a number of shareholders who saw it as a chance for the Redstones to cash out, but one that would dilute the position of non-voting shareholders, who would own fewer shares of the company. Class B nonvoting shares have fallen about 19% this year.
Read more: Paramount shares are subject to dilution risk
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, MTV and other media companies, has struggled with the transition from traditional television to streaming. Advertising revenue for the company’s television stations declined. The streaming service Paramount+ gained around 67 million subscribers, but continued to lose money.
Several shareholders have urged the company to consider other offers, including negotiations with Apollo Global Management Inc.
(Updates on stock performance in sixth paragraph.)
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