After months of talks, Paramount Global and Skydance Media formally announced a deal to merge Sunday evening.
Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of Paramount International and its controlling shareholder by means of Nationwide Amusements Inc., addressed the pact in a memo to workers, as did the trio of co-CEOs presently main the corporate: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Leisure Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Footage and Nickelodeon. (Learn the memos under.)
“As a longtime manufacturing companion to Paramount, Skydance is effectively conscious of what we’ve got completed over time and it’s for that cause that they’ve pursued a mixture with Paramount,” Redstone wrote. “They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and the sources to construct on Paramount International’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.”
In her memo, Redstone referred to her late father, Sumner Redstone, who assembled the items of what grew to become Viacom and Paramount International: “Our household has all the time been dedicated to persevering with my Dad’s legacy and making certain Paramount’s enduring success. In keeping with that, because the tempo of change within the business has continued to speed up, it has been our duty to work with management to make modifications with a purpose to keep our aggressive place and gasoline progress, considering of each the close to and long term.”
The deal is anticipated to shut within the first half of 2025 — and till then, the co-CEOs advised workers in their very own memo, “it’s enterprise as typical.”
The current plan under Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins includes layoffs and different measures aimed toward attaining upwards of $500 million in annualized prices; promoting belongings to pay down debt; and pursuing a three way partnership to scale up Paramount+ and speed up its flip to profitability.
“We’ve been on a journey to rework Paramount for the longer term, and because of your laborious work, Paramount brings large worth to this mixture with Skydance,” Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins wrote.
Beneath the two-step Skydance-Paramount deal, Skydance will purchase Redstone’s Nationwide Amusements Inc., which holds a 77% controlling stake in Paramount; subsequently, Skydance will merge with Paramount International. As soon as these transactions shut, the administration group of “New Paramount” will comprise Skydance chief David Ellison as chairman and CEO and ex-NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell as president. The Ellison household and its monetary companion, RedBird Capital Companions, mentioned they may make investments greater than $8 billion in Paramount.
Earlier than the Skydance-Paramount deal closes, Paramount International could execute different transactions.
Warner Bros. Discovery has expressed interest in exploring potential tie-up between Max and Paramount+. As well as, Paramount International reportedly has initiated talks to sell BET to an investor group led by BET chief Scott Mills. And the corporate is anticipated to hunt consumers for the famed Paramount Footage Studio lot in L.A.
Learn the memo from Shari Redstone:
Good night. Simply moments in the past, it was introduced that we’ve got entered into an settlement underneath which Skydance Media will purchase Nationwide Amusements and merge Skydance’s enterprise with Paramount International. I wished to take this chance to achieve out to you instantly not solely to share the information, however to specific my large gratitude to every one in all you for what we’ve got been capable of accomplish collectively for the previous a number of a long time.
As you recognize, my father constructed Viacom and CBS by bringing collectively a bunch of one of the best belongings in media, information, and leisure. Whereas individuals usually debated whether or not content material or distribution dominated the day, my father was ruled in all of his choices by his perception that content material was certainly king. That has by no means been extra necessary than it’s at the moment, when in a cluttered market, we proceed to create content material that resonates with our customers, that they frequently search out, and that retains them wanting extra. Our success is due to you, what you’ve gotten executed individually, and much more importantly, as a group.
Seeing the way in which you’ve gotten come collectively since we launched Paramount International has been one of many highlights of my years at this firm, and your accomplishments are evident throughout the enterprise. Paramount+ is among the many fastest-growing streaming companies with an distinctive vary of content material interesting to all demographics. CBS has been the #1 broadcast community for 16 years and working, with clear energy throughout genres. Paramount Footage has produced eight #1 films prior to now two years alone and continues to create hit after hit. Our linear networks have delivered culture-shaping content material that excites audiences, together with the launch of the “Taylor Sheridan universe” with Yellowstone on the Paramount Community. And, Pluto TV is at the moment essentially the most extensively distributed FAST service.
As all this was completed, we remained devoted to educating and informing ourselves and our audiences in our efforts to combat hate and discrimination, and supporting different necessary causes within the US and world wide. I’m so grateful to all of you for what we’ve got been capable of accomplish to make a distinction.
Our household has all the time been dedicated to persevering with my Dad’s legacy and making certain Paramount’s enduring success. In keeping with that, because the tempo of change within the business has continued to speed up, it has been our duty to work with management to make modifications with a purpose to keep our aggressive place and gasoline progress, considering of each the close to and long term. Most not too long ago, this led to the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins as Co-CEOs, to take the significant actions essential to bolster the Firm each operationally and financially. I feel we are able to all agree on their huge contributions to this firm. On the similar time, as you recognize, our Board has centered on making certain we’re pursuing all alternatives to greatest place the Firm for the longer term and maximize worth creation for all shareholders.
As a longtime manufacturing companion to Paramount, Skydance is effectively conscious of what we’ve got completed over time and it’s for that cause that they’ve pursued a mixture with Paramount. They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and the sources to construct on Paramount International’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.
The settlement we entered into at the moment is topic to closing situations, and we anticipate the deal to be accomplished within the first half of 2025. Till then, George, Chris, and Brian will proceed to guide the Firm, and they are going to be sharing extra with you shortly. I after all will even be right here to cheer you on, and help in any method that I can. It has actually been my honor to work with all of you these previous a number of years, and to see so a lot of our desires come to fruition.
I need to specific my deepest due to you on your dedication, laborious work, and most significantly your help of my household and me. Towards a difficult business backdrop and lots of modifications on the firm, you’ve gotten protected Paramount’s belongings and delivered for our audiences. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, and I’ll all the time say, we’ve got one of the best individuals within the enterprise right here at Paramount and it’s actually a privilege to work with you. I’ll all the time treasure the relationships I’ve had with you and the methods we’ve got labored collectively to tell apart ourselves in our business.
All one of the best, Shari
Learn the memo from the present Paramount International co-CEOs:
Hello Everybody,
Right this moment marks an necessary milestone for Paramount, as we simply introduced a definitive settlement with Skydance Media. By combining Skydance with Paramount, we might construct on our storied legacy to create a fair stronger, next-generation media and know-how chief, positioned to win in at the moment’s quickly reworking media panorama.
As Shari shared, we anticipate this transaction to shut within the first half of 2025, because it’s topic to regulatory approvals and different steps crucial to finish the deal. The settlement additionally contains what’s known as a “go-shop” provision, which implies that the Particular Committee of Paramount’s Board of Administrators and its representatives will probably be permitted to actively solicit and consider various acquisition proposals for a 45-day interval.
Till the transaction closes, it’s enterprise as typical — we’ll proceed to function as an impartial firm and transfer ahead with the strategic plan we outlined at our city corridor. This contains actions to modernize our group by streamlining groups, eliminating duplicative capabilities and lowering the scale of our workforce. We will even proceed to discover alternatives to rework world streaming and optimize our asset combine by divesting a few of our belongings.
We’ve been on a journey to rework Paramount for the longer term, and because of your laborious work, Paramount brings large worth to this mixture with Skydance. Paramount continues to be the house of invaluable IP that powers one of the best that leisure has to supply to audiences world wide, and a vibrant inventive tradition. And, our belongings are among the many most compelling within the business, together with the primary US broadcast community with CBS and our main free-to-air networks within the UK, Australia, Argentina, and Chile; iconic manufacturers like Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and Showtime; a high 5 SVOD service within the US with Paramount+; and a number one world free ad-supported streaming service in Pluto TV. And naturally, Paramount Footage continues to create genre-spanning movies that ship on the field workplace, most not too long ago with A Quiet Place: Day One – the most recent addition to our 100-year-old movie library.
This transaction would mix Skydance’s monetary sources, deep working expertise, and cutting-edge know-how with Paramount’s iconic IP, deep movie and tv library, confirmed hit-making capabilities, and linear and streaming platforms that attain tens of millions of viewers. And, we already know Paramount and Skydance, led by David Ellison, can obtain unbelievable outcomes collectively, as evidenced by our sturdy, 15-year collaboration that has delivered extremely profitable movies and franchises like Prime Gun: Maverick and Mission: Unimaginable – Fallout.
The Paramount that we all know at the moment wouldn’t be attainable with out the management of Shari and the Redstone household. It’s due to their imaginative and prescient and help over the various years that we’re one of many main world leisure firms on this planet, with one of the best group within the enterprise. We want to sincerely thank Shari and her complete household for his or her unwavering help and management. We’d additionally prefer to thank our Board of Administrators, who’ve helped information us alongside the way in which. We respect all that they do on behalf of Paramount.
And most significantly, we need to thank all of you, our Paramount International group, for all you’ve gotten executed and proceed to do to drive Paramount to new heights.
We all know you’ll have questions and we’ll share as a lot data as we are able to all through this course of. Within the meantime, you possibly can learn extra in regards to the settlement within the press launch right here.
Thanks,
George, Chris and Brian
