The Paramount $PARA-Skydance merger saga just got weirder.
Apex Capital Trust, a mysterious buyer, submitted an offer to buy Paramount Global for up to $43 billion, the firm said Wednesday in a press release that has since been pulled by the wire service Business Wire. The offer, which now appears to be a hoax, had set off alarm bells from the start.
The competing bid, if real, could complicate the deal that Paramount reached with Skydance Media. After months of on-and-off talks, Ellison’s Skydance and Paramount agreed to merge earlier this month. However, the agreement included a 45-day “go-shop” period that allows Paramount to look for a superior deal.
Apex Capital Trust said it had offered to buy both voting and nonvoting shares of Paramount held by National Amusements for $35.03 and $23.28 each, respectively. This would be at a 33% premium over the shares’ 52-week highs.
Additionally, Apex said it would assume Paramount’s $15.8 billion of debt and pay Skydance’s $400 million break-up fee. The firm is also committed to infuse about $10 billion into Paramount.
Paramount and National Amusements declined to comment on the bid.
News of the proposed deal bumped Paramount stock up 3% — gains that were wiped out by news the deal maybe wasn’t real.
Investors expressed skepticism over the offer from the start.
“It lacked credibility that no one knows anything prior about a buyer who is willing to pay $43 billion,” Cabot Henderson, a merger arbitrage specialist at JonesTrading, told Bloomberg.
The Financial Times also reported on the mysterious Apex, noting idiosyncrasies in the company’s press release.
For example, Apex’s stated strategic goals for Paramount include “quantum computing.”
Apex also claims to have acquired 40% of the New Delhi-based Simmtronics, which it claims is “ranked #3 worldwide in tablet PCs, after Apple $AAPL and Samsung.”
“Paramount’s global future is bright, but it requires resources, which we have and are enthusiastic to deploy, making it a win-win situation for all of Paramount’s stakeholders,” wrote Tatiana Logan, General Counsel for Apex Trust, in the since-redacted release.
According to Logan’s LinkedIn, she joined Apex this month and is the founder of Elwood Law PC.