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After letting exclusive merger talks with Skydance Media lapse on Friday, Paramount Global is reportedly in formal talks with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management for a takeover bid, according to the New York Times.
Last week, Reuters reported that Paramount wouldn’t extend its exclusive merger discussions with Skydance, the film production company led by David Ellison, when it expired Friday. Skydance had proposed to pay more than $2 billion for National Amusements, Paramount’s parent company, and have Ellison lead the merged entity.
Now, Sony and Apollo’s offer to buy Paramount for $26 billion in cash is on the table. Paramount’s board of directors officially signed off on kickstarting negotiations with Sony and Apollo on Saturday, people familiar with the matter told the Times.
The official talks with Sony and Apollo also come after former Paramount CEO Bob Bakish stepped down from the company last week. He had been Viacom’s CEO since 2016 and has led Paramount Global since the merger between Viacom and CBS was completed in December 2019.
Will Gavin contributed to this article.