Bronfman muscles into Paramount deal
August 21, 2024
Edgar Bronfman Jr has raised up to $5.5 billion (€4.9bn) to boost his last gasp offer for Paramount and gatecrash the agreed deal with Skydance Media, reports FT.
Bronfman tabled an initial $4.3 billion bid on August 19th – the deadline for the expiration of Paramount’s 45-day ‘go shop’ period. But the former Warner Music chief executive intends to improve those terms in the coming days after securing more commitments from investors. Bronfman has reportedly secured commitments from investors including Fortress, which is majority owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala investment arm.
Other backers are said to include private investment group BC Partners Credit, film producer Steven Paul and crypto entrepreneur Brock Pierce.
The decision to take in foreign investment is likely to attract the attention of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. Paramount owns CBS News, which has some potential restrictions related to foreign ownership.
In a letter to a special committee of Paramount directors, Bronfman’s investor group said its offer “represents a much more favourable outcome for Paramount stockholders and creates a far more viable public company than the Skydance deal”.
Bronfman’s move is the latest twist in a long battle over Paramount.
Other posts by :
- Project Kuiper beating OneWeb
- OQ Tech gets Luxembourg 5G-by-Sat concession
- Roskosmos: Heads roll, launch project scrapped
- MDA under pressure over satellite order
- SES backs C-band action from FCC
- Congested orbits mean high risks of debris
- SpaceX bids fairwell to booster 1076
- Bank: LBG Media results “in line”