Edgar Bronfman Jr. has abruptly dropped his eleventh-hour bid for Paramount Global. The decision came as the clock ticked down on the time frame within which his group had to finalize a firm offer that could be a viable alternative to Skydance Media’s pending takeover agreement.
Late Monday, Paramount Global’s special committee handling its long M&A process issued a statement closing the door on the company’s “go-shop” period and expressing its intent to move forward with the Skydance Media deal. The committee noted in a statement that “contacted more than 50 third parties” to see if there was interest in bidding for the storied owner of Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, Comedy Central and more.
“On behalf of the Special Committee we thank Mr. Bronfman and his investor group for their interest and efforts,” said Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Chair of Paramount Global’s special committee.
“Having thoroughly explored actionable opportunities for Paramount over nearly eight months, our Special Committee continues to believe that the transaction we have agreed with Skydance delivers immediate value and the potential for continued participation in value creation in a rapidly evolving industry landscape,” Phillips said.
Paramount Global said the Skydance deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025, as the company established earlier this month with its second-quarter earnings, which were weak and underscored the urgency for the transaction. In reporting Q2 numbers on Aug. 8, Paramount Global lopped nearly $6 billion in value off of its books to reflected the diminished prospects of its linear cable networks group.
Earlier on Monday evening, Bronfman acknowledged the end of his effort.
“Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate,” Bronfman said in a statement.
“We continue to believe that Paramount Global is an extraordinary company, with an unrivaled collection of marquee brands, assets and people,” Bronfman continued. “While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount’s best days are ahead. We congratulate the Skydance team and thank the special committee and the Redstone family for their engagement during the go-shop process.”
Bronfman’s group threw a wrench in Skydance Media’s plan to close its takeover agreement for Paramount Global that is valued at about $8 billion. Skydance and Paramount Global have been doing the M&A tango since late last year. A number of industry players, from Apollo Global Management to individual operators such as Byron Allen and Steven Paul, have made noise over the past eight months about trying to buy Paramount. Bronfman, in the final days of the go-shop window built in to the Skydance-Paramount takeover agreement, went the farthest with the Paramount Global board special committee tasked with handling the tumultuous M&A process.
It’s understood that Bronfman and his backers came to the conclusion Monday that they did not have the time needed to hammer out the complicated financial and governance agreements necessary to present the Paramount Global committee with a firm counterproposal. Clearly they also got no signals from Paramount that there was any will to pursue another extension with Skydance to allow for discussions. Skydance reluctantly baked in a six-week “go-shop” period allowing Paramount Global to seek superior offers into the final agreement that it wrangled last month after months of on and off negotiations.
The go-shop provision was a must for the seller as it is an effort to protect Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone from shareholder lawsuits as the terms of the Skydance transaction are generally more favorable to her than they are to owners of the company’s common stock. Paramount Global’s special committee voted last week to extend that go-shop period by another 15 days, to Sept. 5. That move irked Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who needled the Paramount Global board with a terse legal letter fired off on Aug. 22, the day after the original expiration of the go-shop period.
Like the Murdochs, the Redstones have been one of the last vestiges of the media baron families that once controlled the nation’s largest studios, networks and publishing giants, through ownership of preferred shares that gave them nearly iron-clad control of their companies. The Skydance transaction will mark a milestone as the Redstone family largely exits the media and entertainment business.
A representative for Skydance had no comment on Bronfman’s withdrawal.
