Paramount Stock Slips in 2025 After Shari Redstone Halts Skydance Merger Deal at $25 Billion Valuation
In 2025, Paramount Global's shares faltered following Shari Redstone's decision to cancel the highly anticipated merger with Skydance Media. This move ends months of negotiations and prompts new strategic shifts for the media giant.
Colin is an Associate Editor specializing in technology and financial news with over three years of expertise in editing, proofreading, and fact-checking on current financial affairs and politics. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from The New School and a B.A. in History and Political Science from McGill University.
Highlights
- Paramount Global's stock remained mostly flat after a sharp decline triggered by the announcement that controlling shareholder Shari Redstone terminated merger talks with Skydance Media in 2024.
- The cancellation came just before a Paramount board committee was due to vote on the merger proposal.
- Redstone is now reportedly considering selling National Amusements, the family holding company that controls Paramount, instead of pursuing a merger.
Paramount Global (PARA) missed the chance to benefit from a CPI-driven stock surge on Wednesday in 2024, dropping after news broke that Shari Redstone called off the long-anticipated merger with Skydance Media.
The decision, initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, occurred shortly before a Paramount directors' committee was set to vote on the deal.
Although financial terms had been agreed upon, the parties disagreed over whether to seek approval from non-controlling shareholders. Redstone, who controls Paramount through National Amusements but is not the majority shareholder, pushed for a shareholder vote to mitigate legal risks, a step Skydance resisted.
End of Skydance’s Prolonged Bid to Acquire Paramount
This development concludes months of efforts by Skydance and private equity partner RedBird Capital to acquire the iconic Hollywood studio. Industry insiders viewed the merger as a vital opportunity for Paramount to compete against streaming leaders like Netflix (NFLX) and tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) venturing into entertainment.
Throughout 2024, Paramount has attracted multiple acquisition offers, including from private equity heavyweight Apollo Global Management (APO) and media entrepreneur Byron Allen.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Redstone might now explore selling National Amusements outright rather than merging Paramount with another company.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday in 2024, Paramount’s stock stabilized after tumbling nearly 8% following the merger cancellation news, with the stock down 25% year-to-date.
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