Paramount merger with Skydance officially closes
Paramount merger with Skydance officially closes
The drawn-out deal is finally completed, though obstacles remain.
It’s been over a year since Paramount Global surprised observers and analysts by agreeing to a merger deal with Skydance Media. Since then, the two sides have inched their way toward a closed deal, hindered by left-field bids from other parties and political considerations. However, on Thursday, the two sides announced that their merger had finally closed, creating the new Paramount, a Skydance Corporation.
Key Details:
- At long last: The Paramount and Skydance merger deal closed on Aug. 7.
- Playing politics: The closing of the deal was long held up by the FCC.
- See you in court: The merger still faces several lawsuits from investors.
The closing of Paramount’s merger with Skydance signals the end of a process that first began in early July 2024. Paramount negotiated with Skydance for weeks before agreeing to a deal, and talks between the two sides were even called off at one point.
“Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount’s legacy as a Hollywood institution into the future of entertainment,” David Ellison, CEO of the new Paramount, said. “My vision is to honor exceptional storytelling while modernizing how we make and deliver content to support the world’s top creative talent, enhance experiences for audiences worldwide, and create sustainable value for our shareholders.”
Skydance has partnered with RedBird Capital to help make the merger a reality. Ellison has already lined up an executive team to help the new Paramount hit the ground running; former NBC executive Jeff Shell, who was ousted from that company following a sexual harassment complaint, will serve as president of Paramount going forward.
The merger deal has been plagued with political interference; approval of the deal by the Federal Communications Commission was held up for many weeks over concerns by the Trump administration that Paramount’s broadcast channel CBS had shown political bias against the president. A lawsuit brought by Trump against CBS was settled by the company in early July, and resistance by the FCC disappeared.
Now, Paramount’s new ownership team can look ahead to how it wants to grapple with declining revenue from cable channels, and the future of Paramount+. But there are still issues to be sorted through; Paramount faces several lawsuits from pension funds and other investors over concerns that the deal with Skydance unjustly enriched former controlling shareholder Shari Redstone at their expense. The Paramount legal team will be busy with those cases for a while, but they haven’t stopped the merger from officially closing at long last.
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