Shari Redstone reverses decision to sell Paramount to Skydance Media, citing financial terms and interest from other buyers as reasons for the abrupt halt in negotiations.
Shari Redstone Halts Sale of Paramount to Skydance Media
On June 11, 2024, Shari Redstone announced the termination of Paramount Global’s proposed sale to Skydance Media, led by David Ellison. Despite months of negotiations and a near-finalized deal, Redstone reversed her decision just before an independent board meeting scheduled to approve the transaction.
For seven months, Redstone had pushed for the sale to Ellison, the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, against resistance from then-CEO Bob Bakish and several board members. The deal faced criticism from investors who argued it favored the Redstone family at the expense of regular shareholders. Redstone subsequently fired Bakish and replaced several board members, moving closer to finalizing the deal.
However, Redstone became uncomfortable with certain deal terms that lessened the financial benefit for her family’s holding company, National Amusements Inc. Originally expecting around $2 billion, the restructured deal with Skydance would leave the family with about $1.7 billion after paying off NAI’s debt. Additionally, other prospective buyers emerged, including Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Steven Paul, signaling their willingness to pay more than Skydance’s offer.
The renegotiation included contentious points such as indemnifying Redstone from shareholder lawsuits and allowing other shareholders to weigh in, which Skydance opposed. Over the weekend, Redstone decided to hold onto her family’s shares, ending the planned sale to Skydance Media.
Paul Zwillenberg Steps Back from Telegraph Bid for New Role at Accenture
Paul Zwillenberg, former CEO of the Daily Mail publisher, has stepped back from his role assisting Sir Paul Marshall in a bid to acquire the Telegraph newspaper. This move comes as Zwillenberg takes on a new global role at Accenture, leading the consultancy’s media practice and focusing on digital and financial transformation.
Zwillenberg, who had been working with Marshall and backed by US investor Ken Griffin, will continue to advise Marshall while at Accenture. The drawn-out process to sell the Telegraph has seen several potential bidders, including Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and DMGT, encounter delays. Complications have arisen due to regulatory scrutiny and the potential shift in political oversight with the approaching UK elections.
Initially, ownership of the Telegraph was seized by Lloyds Banking Group from the Barclay family and later sold to RedBird IMI. RedBird’s bid was blocked by the government earlier this year, prolonging the sale.
Moving forward, RedBird IMI has restarted the sale process to recoup the £600 million spent on acquiring the debt, with first-round bids anticipated in the coming weeks.
