Larry Ellison will control Paramount after the Skydance deal closes
Larry Ellison, the mega-billionaire founder of Oracle, will be the majority shareholder of National Amusements Inc., the company that controls Paramount Global, following the expected closing of its deal with Skydance Media – led by his son, David Ellison – next year, according to a registration application.
Larry Ellison will own 77.5% of National Amusements through Pinnacle Media, a group of three companies formed “as special purpose vehicles to preserve the Ellison family’s interest in NAI and Paramount,” according to an FCC filing is available. on this link. The remaining 22.5% of NAI will be owned by Gerry Cardinale, head of private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, who worked with Skydance and the Ellisons on the NAI/Paramount deal.
The FCC filing disclosing NAI’s ownership interests was required because the transaction includes the transfer of the 28 local TV stations owned and operated by CBS. The FCC must approve a transfer of control over television broadcast licenses.
On July 7, after months of back-and-forth discussions, Skydance and RedBird, along with NAI and Paramount Global, announced a binding agreement under which the Skydance group would purchase the shares of Shari Redstone’s NAI (which owns 77% of the voting shares). power in Paramount Global) and then merge with Paramount.
Last month, an investor consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. a last-minute rival bid for Paramount just days before the “go-shop” period under the Skydance agreement expired on August 21 (prompting the special committee of the Paramount board to extend the term). negotiation period of 15 days). But last week, Bronfman announced that the bidding group was leaving the deal process, paving the way for a Skydance-RedBird deal.
Paramount Global properties include CBS, Paramount Pictures, cable networks such as Comedy Central, MTV and BET, and streamers Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The media conglomerate currently expects the Skydance deal to close in the first half of 2025. David Ellison will become CEO of the combined Skydance-Paramount and Jeff Shell, ex-CEO of NBCUniversal and chairman of RedBird Sports & Media, will become president.
Ahead of the upcoming Skydance deal, Paramount has been making major layoffs due to revenue declines in its TV and film businesses. The company said last month it will cut 15% of its U.S. workforce through the end of 2024 — eliminating about 2,000 jobs — as part of efforts to cut $500 million in costs annually.
