Paramount and Skydance Near Merger Deal

For months, Paramount’s controlling shareholder and Skydance sought to seal a merger that would transform the media industry, before those talks ground to a sudden halt in June. Now, just weeks later, the two sides have reached a preliminary deal to merge, four people familiar with the negotiations said.

The agreement will still have to be approved by a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the talks resumed.

If they win that approval, the deal will combine Paramount — the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon — and Skydance, the up-and-coming movie studio that helped produce “Top Gun: Maverick,” into a new giant in Hollywood.

An agreement would be a changing of the guard in the media world, as legacy companies like Paramount struggle with the decline of cable TV and with streaming services that bleed cash. Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount through her stake in its parent company, National Amusements, is part of the family that has run the media conglomerate for decades. The new company would be backed instead by big-ticket investors like the private-equity firm RedBird and David Ellison, son of the Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

It would also end a dramatic saga that has played out over months. Paramount and Skydance entered into exclusive negotiations in April only to let them lapse in May without striking an agreement. Their talks continued, even as other suitors emerged.

The two finally seemed to be headed toward a deal in June after a marathon weekend of negotiating. But just as Paramount’s special committee was set to vote on that deal, lawyers for National Amusements emailed Paramount’s special committee to end the discussions.