Skydance awaits word on its enhanced bid for Paramount

By Dawn Chmielewski

(Reuters) -Skydance Media on Monday was awaiting a response to its enhanced bid for entertainment conglomerate Paramount Global, in which it offered to buy nearly half of the nonvoting Paramount shares at $15 each, according to a source familiar with the matter.

CNBC reported a deal could be announced in the coming days, though another knowledgeable person said no decision has been reached. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

The new proposal follows months of negotiations between Santa Monica, California-based independent studio Skydance and Paramount, which, like other media companies, has been hit by the decline of the traditional television industry.

"We received the financial terms of the proposed Paramount/Skydance transaction over the weekend and we are reviewing them," said a spokesperson for movie theater owner National Amusements, which holds 77% of Paramount's class A voting stock.

Under the revised deal terms, Skydance would make a tender offer to buy about 40% of Paramount's nonvoting B class of shares, according to the source familiar with the matter. Class A shareholders - the voting shares - could get $23 per share, according to a Bloomberg report Monday. Reuters had not independently verified that information.

Shareholders also would hold a stake in the newly created company formed by the merger of Paramount with Skydance. That would combine the home of Paramount Pictures film studio, the CBS broadcast network and cable networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon with the independent studio that partnered with Paramount on several major film releases, including "Top Gun: Maverick," "Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One" and "Star Trek Into Darkness."

In a related transaction, Skydance would acquire privately held National Amusements, which owns movie theaters in the U.S., UK and Latin America, and whose 77% holding of Paramount class A voting stock represents the Redstone family's controlling interest in the company. That $2 billion deal would give David Ellison's Skydance voting control over the larger media company, setting the stage for the merger.

A spokesman for Paramount's board declined to comment and a spokesperson for the New York-based company's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Paramount shares were up nearly 8% on Monday in afternoon trading.

A rival bidder, Sony Pictures Entertainment, in partnership with Apollo Global Management, emerged late in the deal process, submitting a nonbinding, all-cash offer of $26 billion. It has since backed away from that initial proposal in favor of a more limited approach.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis)