Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: third time might just be the charm for the proposed merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global. What does that mean? We’re glad you asked…
Huh? What’s happening? Who’s Edgar Bronfman? Help!
Don’t worry, we’ve gotten ourselves in a right muddle over this Paramount business, too. If you’ve been living under, on or around a rock more than a few feet from the media enterprise’s boardroom, stay tuned for a quick look back at a particularly narratively unsatisfying corporate staring contest. We’ll make it fun, we promise.
If you’re already exceptionally clued-in (if you’re a lawyer for a US media conglomerate, for example) then here’s the latest: Edgar Bronfman Jr. – the head of an investment group who offered a last-minute bid for the embattled Paramount Global last week – announced on Monday that he was ending his bid for the company.
This caused Paramount Global to issue a statement ending its “go-shop” period, during which time rival parties could still throw their hats into the ring, and announced its intention to continue with the Skydance deal it accepted in July. This is the third (and hopefully, for our sanity’s sake, the last) time the Skydance/Paramount deal has been on the verge of going through. Talks between the two companies first fell apart in June, reportedly over National Amusements’ (the controlling force behind Paramount) condition that Skydance foot the bill for their legal costs should shareholders sue over CEO Shari Redstone’s willingness to accept a lower financial offer to protect certain facets of the Paramount brand.
Don’t worry, that sentence gave us a headache to write, too.
But Skydance and Paramount got back around the table in July and, with a six-week “go-shop” period to find a more lucrative offer designed to placate those angsty shareholders, it looked like the merger was all but a done deal.
Until last week, when the aforementioned Edgar Bronfman Jr. announced his intention to place a bid of his own. As of Monday, however, that bid is no more. The fast-approaching deadline of 5th September seems to have put a spanner in Bronfman’s plans, as the investment group would have struggled to get a concrete plan together in time to rival the months-in-the-making Skydance bid. Don’t leave your homework to the last minute, kids.
“Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate,” Bronfman said in a statement.
“We continue to believe that Paramount Global is an extraordinary company, with an unrivaled collection of marquee brands, assets and people. While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount’s best days are ahead. We congratulate the Skydance team and thank the special committee and the Redstone family for their engagement during the go-shop process.”
So, that’s that, then. We’ll let you know if/when the merger officially goes through/explodes for a series of very complicated reasons. For now, though, we’re off for a lie down – this capitalism thing is doing our blood pressure no favours.
