(Reuters) – Skydance Media last week revised its offer to Paramount Global to buy a certain number of Paramount’s non-voting shares at $15 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The new offer values Paramount B shares at about 26% above Friday’s closing price, the report said.
Paramount declined to comment on the report, and Skydance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A special committee of Paramount’s board has agreed to recommend a deal with Skydance Media after its watered-down offer last week, the Wall Street Journal reported separately on Friday.
Skydance has submitted a watered-down proposal for its proposed merger with Paramount, which reportedly offers improved terms for both voting and non-voting Paramount shareholders as well as more cash, a source told Reuters on Thursday.
Skydance spent several months in negotiations with Paramount.
Meanwhile, a competing bidder, Sony (NYSE:) Pictures Entertainment, in partnership with Apollo Global Management (NYSE:), emerged late in the deal process with a non-binding offer of $26 billion in cash. It has since moved away from this initial proposal in favor of a more limited approach.