Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount in merger talks (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

It's a sad state of affairs for movie history because so much of its film history is being ignored by Disney and now Amazon.

 

[DVBRD]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/warner-bros-discovery-halts-merger-talks-with-paramount-global-cnbc-reports-2024-02-27/

 

[Garysb]

David Zaslav Is Out of the Paramount Business

Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer exploring a merger with Paramount Global, according to a report in CNBC.

www.indiewire.com

Paramount has set up a special committee with a financial adviser to sift through potential bids. It is likely the committee has already evaluated Byron Allen’s $30 billion bid; there is a contingent of analysts who believe Allen does not have sufficient funding.

Comcast is not interested in acquiring Paramount either, CNBC wrote, though the two companies continue to discuss bundling or even merging Peacock and Paramount+

The news of Zaslav pulling back comes as Paramount’s stock nears a 52-week low.

One of the more likely scenarios for Paramount is that Skydance’s David Ellison buys National Amusements, Inc., the movie-theater chain owned by Shari Redstone that holds 77 percent of Paramount Global’s voting shares. So Ellison would be buying control of Paramount Global rather than the assets itself.

 

[Alex...]

Sony Pictures is in talks to buy Paramount Pictures

Sony in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount

The company and Apollo Global Management are discussing a joint effort, even as Paramount conducts exclusive merger negotiations with Skydance.

www.nytimes.com

 

[mskaye]

Sony Pictures is in talks to buy Paramount Pictures

Sony in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount

The company and Apollo Global Management are discussing a joint effort, even as Paramount conducts exclusive merger negotiations with Skydance.

www.nytimes.com

I like that better than being bought by a venture capital firm. Listen to this for more info...

 

[Chip_HT]

I think I like the idea of a Sony/Paramount union, definitely more than one with WB. (Especially if it pulls Paramount into Movies Anywhere.)

 

[mskaye]

I think I like the idea of a Sony/Paramount union, definitely more than one with WB. (Especially if it pulls Paramount into Movies Anywhere.)

It will be interesting to hear what the pundits think about this hypothetical merger. Sony in many ways, does very well doing what it currently does as an "arms dealer" sans streaming baggage and dying linear TV assets.