Skydance Media is back at the Paramount table and has reached a tentative agreement to buy a controlling stake in the company.
It comes just weeks after an earlier deal was abandoned.
Under the agreement, Skydance would pay $1.75 billion for National Amusements, Shari Redstone’s company, which owns 77% of the voting shares in Paramount.
The news was first reported by Wall Street Journal, which has often led in the coverage of the protracted sale. The story may not be over with 82 year-old media mogul Barry Diller emerging as a new contender. If Diller is able to come up with a more lucrative offer, the Skydance agreement may still fall.
National Amusements has now eferred the Skydance deal to a special committee of Paramount’s board for review.
In line with the previous agreement, Skydance, which produced the Paramount hit Top Gun: Maverick, would merge with Paramount.
Earlier this week, it emerged Paramount was seeking a partner for its streaming service Paramount+.
It also runs the CBS broadcast Network in the United States, the UK’s Channel 5 and multichannel networks MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
