Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle, is set to become the majority shareholder of National Amusements Inc. (NAI), the company that controls Paramount Global, following the anticipated completion of the deal with Skydance Media next year.
Ellison’s acquisition of a majority stake in NAI is now officially confirmed: he will own 77.5% of the company through Pinnacle Media, a collection of three entities created specifically to hold the Ellison family’s interest in NAI and Paramount.
The remaining 22.5% of NAI will be owned by Gerry Cardinale, head of the private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, which, along with Skydance and the Ellisons, is involved in the NAI/Paramount deal.
The filing also indicates that Ellison and RedBird have agreed to loan up to $277 million to NAI before the deal closes. During this period, National Amusements can request a loan only once.
This disclosure was necessary because the transaction involves the transfer of CBS’s 28 local TV stations. The filing with the FCC seeks approval for the transfer of control over television broadcast licenses.
On July 7, after prolonged negotiations, Skydance, RedBird, NAI, and Paramount Global finalized an agreement where the Skydance group will purchase Shari Redstone’s shares in NAI (which controls 77% of the voting power in Paramount Global) and merge with Paramount.
In the FCC filing, the Skydance group argued that the deal would bring substantial public interest benefits by providing New Paramount with increased capital and a stronger balance sheet, along with a highly experienced leadership team in broadcasting, media, and technology.
They asserted that these new resources would enhance and rejuvenate Paramount’s current broadcasting services with CBS and that the transaction would not diminish competition or cause other issues due to the lack of attributable interests in other TV broadcast licenses.
Recently, an investor consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. made a last-minute rival bid for Paramount just before the “go-shop” period under the Skydance agreement ended on August 21, which led to an extension of the negotiation period by 15 days.
However, Bronfman’s group has since exited the bidding process, clearing the path for the Skydance-RedBird deal to proceed.
Paramount Global’s assets include CBS, Paramount Pictures, cable networks such as Comedy Central, MTV, and BET, and streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The company expects the Skydance deal to be finalized in the first half of 2025.
David Ellison is set to become CEO of the merged Skydance-Paramount, while Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUniversal and chairman of RedBird Sports & Media, will be the president.
As the deal approaches, Paramount is undergoing significant layoffs due to revenue declines in its TV and film divisions.
Last month, the company announced a 15% reduction in its U.S. workforce, equating to approximately 2,000 jobs, as part of its plan to cut $500 million in annual costs by the end of 2024.
