Film producer David Ellison’s offer for Paramount Global includes an option for nonvoting shareholders to cash out a portion of their stock for about $15 a share, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The offer, a roughly 26% premium to Friday’s closing price, is for only some of the shares, according to the person, who asked to not be identified because the discussions aren’t public.
Spokespeople for Paramount and Ellison’s Skydance Media declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the offer earlier Sunday.
Paramount’s shares rose 5% to $12.50 in premarket trading on Monday.
The cash payout is the latest attempt by Ellison to sweeten the terms of a deal that has faced opposition from some investors. The son of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison is looking to take over the film and TV giant through a multi-step process that involves him buying out the Redstone family’s controlling stake and then merging his company into Paramount.
A third part of the transaction involves Ellison and his partners investing billions of dollars more in the business, either through a share offering or debt repayment. His backers include RedBird Capital Partners and KKR & Co. Skydance has agreed to put in a minimum of $1.5 billion to pay down debt on Paramount’s balance sheet as part of a sweetened offer, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources.
A special committee of Paramount board members recommended Ellison’s latest terms last week. Now the decision is largely in the hands of Shari Redstone, Paramount’s chair and the matriarch of the family that owns about 77% of the voting stock.
Paramount’s annual meeting is Tuesday.
Ellison’s talks with Paramount began last year. The 41-year-old producer of films such as Top Gun: Maverick has had to increase his offer as investors including Mario Gabelli and Ariel Investment’s John Rogers expressed concern that the Redstones were getting bought out a premium and other investors were facing dilution.
Apollo Global Management Inc. has made an non-binding offer for Paramount in partnership Sony Group Corp.
