After letting exclusive talks with the movie studio Skydance lapse, Paramount’s directors met over the weekend and decided to negotiate with all the

Sony and Apollo in Talks to Acquire Paramount

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2024-05-06 02:00:03

After letting exclusive talks with the movie studio Skydance lapse, Paramount’s directors met over the weekend and decided to negotiate with all the suitors.

Paramount has decided to formally open negotiations with a bidding group led by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move comes after a period of exclusive talks with the Hollywood studio Skydance lapsed on Friday night.

A special committee of Paramount’s board of directors met Saturday and signed off on beginning deal talks with Sony and Apollo, which last week submitted a nonbinding letter of interest offering to buy the company for around $26 billion in cash, the people said. The committee also decided to push for further negotiations with Skydance, a studio founded by the technology scion David Ellison.

Paramount, the owner of Nickelodeon, MTV, CBS and Paramount Pictures, has been exploring a deal as it faces industrywide headwinds, including the decline of cable TV and the unprofitability of its streaming business.