Skydance × Paramount Acquisition

Paramount Global is multinational media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements, originally formed on December 4, 2019 as ViacomCBS through the merger of CBS and Viacom. The company rebranded to Paramount in 2022. In 2024, National Amusements held talks for a potential merger or acquisition of Paramount Global Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures, Apollo Global Management, and Skydance Media were all potential acquirers at one point. On June 3, Paramount reportedly agreed to a merger with Skydance Media, but talks fell apart and it was called off by June 11. The companies re-negotiated the deal, reached a preliminary agreement on July 2, 2024 for Skydance to acquire National Amusements and merge with Paramount. The deal will be structured so that a group of investors from Skydance will pay $2.4 billion in cash to purchase National Amusements, and Paramount Global will pay its Class A and Class B stockholders $4.5 billion in cash and shares. The deal is expected to close in September 2025. Skydance Productions was formed in 2006 by David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, co-founder of the Oracle Corporation. In the Fall of 2009, Skydance and Paramount Pictures signed a five-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement. The two companies collaborated on franchises including Mission Impossible, Star Trek, Top Gun, Terminator, Jack Ryan, Transformers, and G.I. Joe.