Special committee of Paramount Global endorses plan to merge with Skydance Media, source says

By Dawn Chmielewski

(Reuters) -Tech scion David Ellison moved one step closer to gaining control of Paramount Global, with a special committee voting Sunday to support a merger with his Skydance Media, a source close to the deal told Reuters.

The proposed deal is likely to gain the approval of Paramount’s full board, including its non-executive chair, Shari Redstone, who last week reached a preliminary agreement to sell the family’s controlling stake in Paramount to Ellison and his deal partners.

A final agreement could be announced as soon as Monday.

The proposed merger would combine Paramount, with its namesake film studio and its CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon television networks, with its financial partner on several major film releases, including “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Mission: Impossible -Dead Reckoning” and “Star Trek Into Darkness”.

The deal comes weeks after Redstone abruptly called off negotiations with Skydance on June 11.

Behind the scenes, Ellison reached out to Redstone about a week later and talks quietly resumed, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

Skydance sweetened its offer for the family’s holding company, National Amusements, which controls 77% of Paramount’s voting shares. The new offer would net the Redstone family $1.75 billion, said one of the sources. It also enhanced legal protections from possible shareholder lawsuits, the source said.