NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS ABOUT TO CHANGE HANDS... MAYBE?

The drama surrounding the fate of family-owned National Amusements Inc. may be drawing to a close, as Shari Redstone has reportedly agreed to sell the company to tech baron David Ellison and his Skydance Media, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The sale would give Ellison majority control of Paramount Global, among other properties, since Redstone has 77% of the company’s voting shares.

Last month, Redstone and Ellison seemed close to an agreement, but Redstone abruptly walked away from negotiations. The revised deal would yield about $50 million more for Redstone and her family compared to the prior one and add protection from shareholder lawsuits. After outstanding debt is paid off, the Redstones will reportedly pocket about $1.75 billion.

The company was once valued at almost $10 billion, but that valuation toppled thanks to theater closures during the pandemic, labor strikes in Hollywood, substantial debt and turnover among top executives.

The agreement between Redstone and Ellison requires approval from a special committee of Paramount’s board as well as federal regulators. If approved, Ellison would have control of the 112-year-old Paramount Pictures, the CBS network, local networks and the cable channels MTV, Comedy Central, BET, TV Land and Nickelodeon.

The deal includes a 45-day period in which other bidders can try to top Ellison’s offer, which means this story might still have another chapter. A possible list of suitors includes Seagram and former Warner Music executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. and digital-media conglomerate IAC's Barry Diller, whom Sumner Redstone outbid for Paramount in 1994. Hollywood producer Steven Paul has also expressed an interest in buying National Amusements.

As recently as May, the Paramount board approved a $26 billion offer from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management that would have retired all of Paramount’s shareholders, before Sony backed away.

The Ellison/Skydance deal “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,” the New York Times wrote.