After months of talks, Paramount Global and Skydance Media officially announced an agreement to merge Sunday evening.
Shari Redstone, the non-executive chairman of Paramount Global and its controlling shareholder through National Amusements Inc., addressed the pact in a memo to employees, as did the trio of co-CEOs who currently run the company: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. (Read the memos below.)
“As a long-time production partner of Paramount, Skydance is well aware of what we have accomplished over the years and it is for this reason that they have pursued a combination with Paramount,” Redstone wrote. “They have a clear strategic vision for the future and the resources to build on Paramount Global’s competitive advantages to drive the Company’s success.”
In her memo, Redstone referred to her late father, Sumner Redstone, who assembled the pieces of what became Viacom and Paramount Global: “Our family has always been committed to continuing my father’s legacy and ensuring the enduring success of Paramount. Accordingly, as the pace of change in the industry has continued to accelerate, it has been our responsibility to work with leadership to make changes in order to maintain our competitive position and drive growth, with both near- and long-term thinking in mind. for the long term.”
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025 — and until then, the co-CEOs told employees in their memo, “it’s business as usual.”
The current plan under Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins includes layoffs and other measures aimed at over $500 million in annual costs; selling assets to pay off debt; and pursuing a joint venture to grow Paramount+ and accelerate its turnaround to profitability.
“We have been on a journey to transform Paramount for the future, and thanks to your hard work, Paramount brings tremendous value to this combination with Skydance,” wrote Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins.
Under the two-step Skydance-Paramount deal, Skydance will acquire Redstone’s National Amusements Inc., which holds a 77% controlling stake in Paramount; next, Skydance will join Paramount Global. After these transactions close, New Paramount’s management team will consist of Skydance chief David Ellison as chairman and CEO and former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell as president. The Ellison family and its financial partner, RedBird Capital Partners, said they will invest up to $6 billion in New Paramount.
Prior to the closing of the Skydance-Paramount deal, Paramount Global may execute other transactions.
Warner Bros. Discovery has expressed interest in exploring potential connections between Max and Paramount+. Additionally, Paramount Global has reportedly begun talks to sell BET to a group of investors led by BET CEO Scott Mills. And the company is expected to seek a buyer for the famed Paramount Pictures Studios in LA
Read the memo from Shari Redstone:
good evening Just moments ago, it was announced that we have entered into an agreement whereby Skydance Media will acquire National Amusements and merge the Skydance business with Paramount Global. I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out to you directly not only to share the news, but to express my tremendous gratitude to each of you for what we have been able to achieve together over the past several decades.
As you know, my father built Viacom and CBS by bringing together a group of the best assets in media, news and entertainment. While people often debated whether content or delivery ruled the day, my father was guided in all his decisions by his belief that content was indeed king. This has never been more important than today, when in a cluttered marketplace, we continue to create content that resonates with our consumers, that they consistently seek out, and that leave them wanting more. Our success is thanks to you, what you have done individually, and most importantly, as a team.
Seeing the way you have come together since we launched Paramount Global has been one of the highlights of my years at this company and your achievements are evident across the business. Paramount+ is among the fastest growing streaming services with an incredible range of content appealing to all demographics. CBS has been the #1 broadcast network for 16 years, and it’s running, with clear strength across all genres. Paramount Pictures has produced eight #1 films in the last two years alone and continues to churn out hit after hit. Our linear networks have delivered cult content that excites audiences, including the launch of the “Taylor Sheridan universe” with Yellowstone on the Paramount Network. And, Pluto TV is the most distributed FAST service today.
While all of this was accomplished, we remained committed to educating and informing ourselves and our audience in our efforts to fight hate and discrimination and support other important causes in the US and around the world. I am very grateful to all of you for what we have been able to achieve to make a difference.
Our family has always been committed to continuing my father’s legacy and ensuring Paramount’s continued success. Accordingly, as the pace of change in the industry has continued to accelerate, it has been our responsibility to work with leadership to make changes in order to maintain our competitive position and drive growth, both near-term and even for the long term. Most recently, this led to the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins as co-CEOs, to take the meaningful actions necessary to strengthen the Company both operationally and financially. I think we can all agree on their great contribution to this company. At the same time, as you know, our Board is focused on ensuring that we are pursuing all opportunities to better position the Company for the future and maximize value creation for all shareholders.
As a long-time production partner of Paramount, Skydance is aware of what we have achieved over the years and it is for this reason that they have pursued a combination with Paramount. They have a clear strategic vision for the future and the resources to build on Paramount Global’s competitive advantages to drive the Company’s success.
The deal we entered into today is subject to closing conditions, and we expect the deal to close in the first half of 2025. Until then, George, Chris and Brian will continue to lead the Company, and they’ll be sharing more with you soon. I will certainly be here to cheer you on and help you in any way I can. It has truly been my honor to work with all of you these past few years and see so many of our dreams come true.
I want to express my deepest thanks to you for your dedication, hard work and most importantly your support to me and my family. Despite a challenging industry backdrop and many changes at the company, you have protected Paramount’s assets and delivered for our audience. As I’ve said before, and I always will, we have the best people in the business here at Paramount, and it’s truly a privilege to work with you. I will always cherish the relationship I have had with you and the ways we have worked together to differentiate ourselves in our industry.
All the best Shari
Read the memo from Paramount Global’s current co-CEOs:
Hello to everyone,
Today marks an important milestone for Paramount, as we just announced a definitive agreement with Skydance Media. By combining Skydance with Paramount, we would build on our storied heritage to create an even stronger, next-generation media and technology leader positioned to win in today’s rapidly transforming media landscape.
As Shari said, we expect this transaction to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other steps necessary to complete the deal. The agreement also includes what is called a “go-shop” provision, meaning that the Special Committee of Paramount’s Board of Directors and its representatives will be allowed to actively seek and evaluate alternative acquisition proposals for a 45-day period .
Until the transaction closes, it’s business as usual – we’ll continue to operate as an independent company and move forward with the strategic plan we outlined at our town hall. This includes actions to modernize our organization by streamlining teams, eliminating duplicate functions and reducing the size of our workforce. We will also continue to explore opportunities to transform global streaming and optimize our asset mix by divesting some of our assets.
We’ve been on a journey to transform Paramount for the future, and thanks to your hard work, Paramount brings tremendous value to this combination with Skydance. Paramount continues to be home to invaluable IP that powers the best entertainment can offer to audiences worldwide and a vibrant creative culture. And, our assets are among the most compelling in the industry, including the number one broadcast network in the US with CBS and our leading free-to-air networks in the UK, Australia, Argentina and Chile; iconic brands like Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Showtime; top five US SVOD services with Paramount+; and a leading global free ad-supported streaming service on Pluto TV. And of course, Paramount Pictures continues to create box-office blockbusters, most recently with A Quiet Place: Day One – the latest addition to our 100-year film library.
This transaction would combine Skydance’s financial resources, deep operating experience and cutting-edge technology with Paramount’s iconic IP, deep film and television library, proven hit-making capabilities and linear and streaming platforms that reach millions of viewers. And, we already know that Paramount and Skydance, led by David Ellison, can achieve incredible results together, as evidenced by our strong 15-year collaboration that has delivered highly successful films and franchises such as Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The Paramount we know today would not be possible without the leadership of Shari and the Redstone family. It is because of their vision and support over many years that we are one of the world’s leading global entertainment companies, with the best team in the business. We would like to sincerely thank Shari and her entire family for their unwavering support and guidance. We would also like to thank our Board of Directors, who have helped us along the way. We appreciate everything they do on behalf of Paramount.
And most importantly, we want to thank all of you, our Paramount Global team, for everything you’ve done and continue to do to take Paramount to new heights.
We know you’ll have questions, and we’ll share as much information as we can during this process. In the meantime, you can read more about the deal in the press release here.
Thank you,
George, Chris and Brian