On Tuesday, a multi-billion dollar merger of Paramount and Skydance, two big Hollywood production houses, came to a halt. Representatives from Paramount said that the $8-billion (Rs 66,800 crore) deal will not go ahead. As per reports, the reason for the fallout is Paramount Global chairperson Shari Redstone, a media mogul who has in the past been behind some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters.
Who is Shari Redstone?
Born in 1954, Shari Redstone is the daughter of Sumner Redstone, the longtime chairman of Paramount and its parent company National Amusements. She practised corporate law and criminal law in Boston in the 80s and 90s before joining the family business in 1999. She joined the company as President of National Amusements and became the Chairwoman of Paramount Global in 2019 after her father stepped down. During her tenure as the chair of Paramount, the studio has produced films like Mission Impossible 8 and Top Gun Maverick, the two biggest hits of Tom Cruise. The company also co-produced Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha.
The cancelled Paramount Skydance merger
National Amusements, which owns a majority voting stake in embattled entertainment giant Paramount Global, said Tuesday that it has ended talks on a possible merger of Paramount with Skydance Media. The potential deal had drawn attention for weeks amid concerns about Paramount’s future given its heavy debt load and declining television business. One media report in early June even stated that Paramount and Skydance had agreed to terms of a deal, contingent only on signoff from Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone. A statement from National Amusements merely noted that the two sides “have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms” for the deal.
How cancelled merger has affected Shari Redstone
The deal was valued at $8 billion (Rs 66,800 crore) according to New York Post. The complex merger deal would require Skydance to buy National Amusements, following which Paramount would acquire Skydance. Following the news of the cancellation of the merger, shares in New York-based Paramount Global ended Tuesday down almost 8%, bringing the company’s market cap down by over $650 million (Rs 5400 crore). Fast Company reported that Redstone would have walked away with around $2 billion (Rs 16700 crore) had the deal been finalised. This means that she has not just lost that amount for herself but also cost the company millions of dollars.
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