(Reuters) – A special committee of Paramount Global’s board has agreed to recommend a deal with Skydance Media, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The potential deal could end months of speculation about the media giant’s fate. Announcements of a takeover bid by Skydance Media and the Apollo Global Management (NYSE:) consortium and Sony (NYSE:) Pictures and another $30 billion offer by media entrepreneur Byron Allen left the stock teetering for months.
Advertiser exodus and shutdowns have hurt Paramount’s traditional television business, which accounts for more than half of its revenue.
Media mogul Shari Redstone has received expressions of interest from at least two parties to buy all or part of her National Amusements company, which owns 77% of Paramount’s Class A voting shares, the report said.
Hollywood producer Stephen Paul, who is chief executive of film studio Crystal Sky Pictures, is seeking financing for National Amusements’ bid of about $3 billion, a report said.
A spokesman for the special committee declined to comment, and Crystal Sky Pictures did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Paramount’s exclusive talks with Skydance ended in early May, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, allowing the company to evaluate rival offers.
Skydance Media has submitted a watered-down proposal for its proposed merger with Paramount, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
The new deal offers improved terms for both voting and non-voting Paramount shareholders, as well as more cash, the source said.
Redstone has not yet seen the terms of Skydance’s latest offer, the WSJ report said.
Analysts say investors may be disappointed by the initial terms of the deal, which would see Skydance buy a majority stake in Redstone but leave Paramount as a public company.