NEW YORK — Entertainment giant Paramount, which owns CBS and was behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather” has agreed to merge with Skydance, the companies said.
The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.
“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” said Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global.
Redstone’s National Amusements owns more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares though the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone, according to data firm FactSet. Shari Redstone had battled to keep control of the company.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years. Those include several Tom Cruise films including “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.
Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. It quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year.
David Ellison will be chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount. The agreement still needs regulatory approval.
The on-again, off-again merger arrives at tumultuous time for Paramount, which in an annual shareholder meeting in early June laid out a restructuring plan that includes major cost cuts. The company also saw a leadership shakeup earlier this year.
Paramount has struggled in an evolving media landscape, particularly as its traditional cable business has declined. To capture today’s growing streaming audience, the company launched Paramount+ back in 2021, but losses and debts have still piled up over time.
Sumner Redstone used National Amusements, his family’s movie theater chain, to build a vast media empire that included CBS and Viacom, which have merged and separated a number of times over the years. Most recently, the companies re-joined forces in 2019, undoing the split consummated in 2006. The company, ViacomCBS, changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.
Under Sumner Redstone’s leadership, Viacom became one of the nation’s media titans, home to pay TV channels MTV and Comedy Central and movie studio Paramount Pictures.
Skydance wasn’t the only one to make a Paramount bid in recent months — Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures also made competing offers. Late last year, Warner Bros. Discovery also made headlines for exploring a potential merger with Paramount. But by February, Warner had reportedly halted those talks.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media have announced a groundbreaking merger in the entertainment industry that is set to shake up the landscape of Hollywood. The two powerhouse companies have joined forces to create a new entity that will combine their respective strengths in film and television production.
The merger between Paramount and Skydance comes at a time when the entertainment industry is undergoing significant changes due to the rise of streaming services and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. By joining forces, the two companies hope to leverage their combined resources and expertise to navigate these challenges and continue to produce high-quality content for audiences around the world.
Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest and most iconic film studios in Hollywood, brings a rich history of producing blockbuster films such as “Transformers,” “Mission: Impossible,” and “Star Trek.” Skydance Media, on the other hand, is known for its innovative approach to storytelling and has produced hit films like “World War Z,” “Terminator Genisys,” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The merger between Paramount and Skydance is expected to result in a more diverse and robust slate of projects for both film and television. The new entity will have access to a wider range of talent, resources, and intellectual property, which will allow it to produce a greater variety of content for audiences of all ages and interests.
In addition to expanding their creative output, the merger between Paramount and Skydance is also expected to create new opportunities for collaboration and cross-promotion between the two companies. By working together, they can leverage their combined marketing power to reach a larger audience and maximize the success of their projects.
Overall, the merger between Paramount and Skydance is a significant development in the entertainment industry that has the potential to reshape the way films and television shows are produced and distributed. With their combined expertise and resources, the new entity is poised to become a major player in Hollywood and continue to deliver top-notch entertainment for years to come.
