Sony is reportedly now in the mix to acquire Paramount in a move that would bring many of entertainment’s best-known franchises under the control of one company.
Well here’s the very definition of a power move: according to reports, Sony may have joined the race to acquire Paramount Global, the company that is currently on sale.
Paramount has been in the shop window for a while now but most analysts believe that 2024 is the year that a deal for the company will be done and for a good while now, Skydance Media has seemed to be in pole position to acquire Paramount Global. With that comes Paramount Pictures, the grand old Hollywood studio that boasts a rich history that is intertwined with the history of Hollywood itself.
A while ago now we heard that Warner Bros’ David Zazlav had taken a meeting with the folks at Paramount but it was never clear if there was ever really much to that story. Skydance Media has been linked with a Paramount acquisition for some time though, not least because the company has a long working relationship with Paramount that encompasses projects like Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission: Impossible films.
The two parties are said to be currently in an exclusive negotiating period, but if today’s story is to be believed, the dynamic of those talks may be about to shift.
According to The New York Times, Sony is teaming up with Apollo Global Management, an investment firm that is said to have already made a bid for Paramount. National Amusements – who holds a controlling stake in the future of Paramount – is believed to want the sale to go to a buyer who has ‘operational experience’ of the entertainment industry. Up until this point, that has made Skydance the most attractive suitor but now Apollo is working with Sony, perhaps that could tip the balance in the latter company’s favour.
For Sony’s part, the purchase of Paramount would add a wealth of popular and lucrative properties to an already impressive library of titles. Star Trek, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, Transformers, Spongebob Squarepants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Friday the 13th and Jack Ryan are just some of Paramount’s notable titles. Sony does not own a streaming service, so significantly expanding its library seems like one way the company can ensure that it has enough titles to continue licensing its films out to those companies that do run streaming platforms. Plus, Paramount Global also comes with Paramount+, of course.
No bid has yet been submitted, according to the report. Still though, it’s an interesting late twist in a story which seemed to be moving towards a conclusion. Whatever happens, we hope it doesn’t lead to a similar situation that occurred when Disney purchased Fox in 2019 which led to lots of job losses and far fewer films. We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
