Edgar Bronfman, Jr.
Cameron Costa | CNBC
Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s offer for a majority stake in Paramount Global It could keep Shari Redstone close to the company, if her bid is successful.
Bronfman is open to Redstone, currently Paramount's nonexecutive chairman, remaining involved in the company if Paramount's special committee accepts his consortium's offer for National Amusements, the controlling shareholder, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Bronfman has raised $6 billion to compete with Skydance Media for ownership of National Amusements, the holding company founded by Sumner Redstone, according to people familiar with the matter. Both Bronfman’s and Skydance’s bids would also include money to buy out a percentage of Paramount Global’s common shareholders.
Bronfman's offer, worth $6 billion, would give cash to about 20 percent of Class B shareholders at $16 a share. Skydance would pay about 50 percent of Paramount's current common investors at $15 a share as part of its offer, according to the people familiar with the matter.
It's unclear whether Redstone prefers one offer over the other. Paramount Global's special committee will determine whether Bronfman's offer is a superior proposition for shareholders by Aug. 28. If the committee decides Bronfman's offer is better, Skydance will have four business days to match it. The deadline for the entire process to be concluded is Sept. 5.
Bronfman still has a few more days to raise more money for a competing bid to counter Skydance, which last month agreed to an $8 billion deal to merge with Paramount Global. Earlier this week, the special committee extended the so-called “offer comparison” period — during which it could consider competing offers — by 15 days to review Bronfman’s initial offer.
One of the people involved in Bronfman’s bid is former AOL Chief Executive Jon Miller, suggesting that Redstone could have more control over a future Paramount Global than he would have with Skydance. Miller, a close ally of Redstone, has been connecting Bronfman with potential capital and would likely accept a role at the company if it were to come under Bronfman’s management — perhaps a board seat and an operational job — according to people familiar with the matter. Bronfman would be the company’s chief executive if his deal were accepted and finalized, the people said.
Miller, Redstone and Redstone’s son-in-law, Jason Ostheimer, together run Advancit Capital, a small venture capital firm that invests in media and technology. The three are the only three people listed on the firm’s website. Miller has also acted as a de facto strategic adviser to Redstone for many years, according to people familiar with the matter.
Redstone has not spoken to Miller about the offer, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the Redstone family and the Bronfman family have moved in similar circles, including making significant donations to Jewish foundations, Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Shari Redstone have not met many times and do not have a close preexisting relationship, two of the people said.
Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison and Redstone have had several discussions about the possibility of Redstone remaining as a shareholder in a combined Skydance and Paramount Global, according to people familiar with the matter.
Redstone is taking a wait-and-see attitude about any future stake he wants to have in Paramount Global going forward, regardless of ownership, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
Spokespeople for Redstone, Bronfman, the Paramount Global special committee and Skydance declined to comment.
Last minute offer
Bronfman has spent the past few weeks meeting with people interested in owning a piece of Paramount Global, including film producer Steven Paul and Patron co-founder John Paul DeJoria, who had previously considered a bid of their own, according to a person familiar with the process, as well as Fortress Investment Group and former Turner Broadcasting CEO John Martin.
Bronfman’s funding comes from many different sources, which could raise regulatory concerns if too much of the money comes from foreign entities. Having so many different backers may also make Bronfman’s bid riskier than that of Skydance, which is backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital and billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father.
Bronfman is the president of Fubo, a sports streaming service and former head of Universal and Warner Music.
Skydance lawyers have sent a letter to Paramount Global’s special committee demanding that the company stop negotiating with Bronfman, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Skydance said Paramount Global violated the terms of the ticketing agreement by failing to notify Skydance that it planned to extend the deadline, the report said.
Skydance also argued that the special committee had no right to extend the sale period because “an offer should have been reasonably expected to lead to a superior offer.” Skydance argued that Bronfman's offer did not meet the criteria.
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