After months of negotiations, Paramount Common and Skydance Media formally introduced their merger settlement on Sunday night time.
Shari Redstone, the nonexecutive chairman of Paramount International and its controlling shareholder by way of Nationwide Amusements Inc., addressed the transfer in a memo to workers. Settlement, as do the three co-CEOs at present main the corporate: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, Showtime/MTV Leisure Studios and Paramount Media Networks president and CEO; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Photos and Nickelodeon. (Learn the memo beneath.)
“As a long-time manufacturing associate of Paramount, Skydance understands very properly what we now have achieved over time, so they’re searching for to merge with Paramount,” Redstone wrote. “They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and have sources to strengthen Paramount International’s aggressive benefit and drive the corporate’s success.”
Within the memo, Redstone talked about her late father, Sumner Redstone, who shaped Viacom and Paramount Worldwide: “Our household stays dedicated to carrying on my father’s legacy. Guaranteeing Paramount’s enduring success, because the tempo of change within the business continues to speed up, it’s our accountability to work with management to make modifications that preserve our aggressive place and drive progress, making an allowance for each the close to and long run. .
Till the deal is anticipated to shut within the first half of 2025, the co-chief govt instructed workers in his personal memo that it was “enterprise as ordinary.”
Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins’ present plans embody layoffs and different measures geared toward reaching greater than $500 million in annual prices; promoting belongings to pay down debt; and pursuing joint ventures to increase Paramount+ and Speed up its profitability.
“We’ve been reworking Paramount for the longer term and thanks on your onerous work as Paramount brings large worth to the merger with Skydance,” Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins wrote.
Below the two-step Skydance-Paramount deal, Skydance will purchase Redstone’s Nationwide Amusements Inc., which holds a 77% controlling curiosity in Paramount; Skydance will then merge with Paramount Common. As soon as these transactions are accomplished, the administration workforce of “New Paramount” can be led by Skydance CEO David Ellison as chairman and CEO and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell. ) serves as president. The Allison household and its monetary associate RedBird Capital Companions mentioned they might make investments greater than $8 billion in Paramount.
Paramount Worldwide could execute different transactions earlier than the Skydance-Paramount deal closes.
Warner Bros. Discovery has expressed curiosity in exploring a possible collaboration between Max and Paramount+. As well as, Paramount International has reportedly initiated negotiations to promote BET to an funding group led by BET CEO Scott Mills. The corporate is anticipated to discover a purchaser for the distinguished Paramount Studios web site in Los Angeles
Learn Sally Redstone’s memo:
Good night time. Only recently, we introduced that we had reached an settlement beneath which Skydance Media will purchase Nationwide Amusements and merge Skydance’s operations with Paramount Common. I needed to take this chance to achieve out to you straight, not solely to share this information, but in addition to specific my immense gratitude to every of you for what we now have achieved collectively over the previous few a long time.
As you already know, my father based Viacom and CBS by bringing collectively the very best belongings in media, information and leisure. Whereas individuals usually debate content material versus distribution, all of my father’s selections had been pushed by his perception that content material was actually king. This has by no means been extra vital than immediately, in a disrupted market, that we proceed to create content material that resonates with customers, retains them in search of it, and leaves them wanting extra. We owe our success to you, for all the things you do individually and, extra importantly, as a workforce.
Seeing the best way you’ve come collectively for the reason that founding of Paramount Worldwide has been one of many highlights of my years with this firm, and your achievements are evident all through the enterprise. Paramount+ is among the quickest rising streaming providers with a wealth of content material that appeals to everybody. CBS has been the No. 1 broadcast community for 16 consecutive years and has clear benefits in all genres. Paramount Photos has produced eight No. 1 motion pictures prior to now two years alone and continues to create hit after hit. Our linear networks ship culture-shaping content material that excites audiences, together with Taylor Sheridan Universe on Paramount Community with Yellowstone. Furthermore, Pluto TV is probably the most broadly distributed FAST service immediately.
Whereas doing all of this, we stay dedicated to educating and informing ourselves and our audiences, working to fight hate and discrimination, and supporting different vital causes in the US and all over the world. I’m so grateful to all of you for making a distinction in what we now have achieved.
Our household stays dedicated to carrying on my father’s legacy and making certain Paramount’s lasting success. In line with this, because the tempo of change within the business continues to speed up, we now have a accountability to work with management to make modifications that preserve our aggressive place and drive progress, making an allowance for each the close to and long run. Most just lately, this has resulted within the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins as co-CEOs to take the required significant actions to help the corporate’s operations and funds. I believe we will all agree on their large contribution to this firm. On the identical time, as you already know, our Board of Administrators is dedicated to making sure that we pursue each alternative to greatest place the corporate for the longer term and create most worth for all shareholders.
As a long-term manufacturing associate of Paramount, Skydance understands what we now have achieved over time, which is why they sought to merge with Paramount. They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and the sources to leverage Paramount’s world aggressive benefits to drive the corporate’s success.
The settlement we reached immediately is topic to closing circumstances, and we anticipate the transaction to shut within the first half of 2025. After all, I will be right here to cheer you on and assist in any method I can. I have been actually honored to work with you all around the previous few years and see lots of our goals come true.
I want to categorical my deepest gratitude on your dedication, onerous work, and most significantly your help of me and my household. You protected Paramount’s belongings and served our audiences amid a difficult business backdrop and lots of modifications for the corporate. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, and I all the time will, Paramount has a number of the greatest expertise within the business, and it is actually a privilege to work with you. I’ll all the time cherish my relationship with you and the best way we work collectively to excel in our business.
All the very best, Sally
Learn the memo from the present Paramount Worldwide co-CEO:
Whats up everybody,
Right now marks a serious milestone for Paramount as we simply introduced a ultimate take care of Skydance Media. By combining Skydance with Paramount, we are going to construct on our legacy and create a good stronger next-generation media and expertise chief to win in immediately’s quickly altering media panorama.
As Shari mentioned, we anticipate the transaction to shut within the first half of 2025 because it requires regulatory approvals and different steps required to finish the transaction. The settlement additionally features a so-called “go-shop” provision, which means a particular committee of Paramount’s board of administrators and its representatives can be allowed 45 days to actively solicit and consider various acquisition proposals.
Till the transaction is accomplished, it’s enterprise as ordinary – we are going to proceed to function as an unbiased firm and advance the strategic plans we outlined on the City Corridor. This contains actions to modernize the group by streamlining groups, eliminating duplicate capabilities and lowering the scale of the workforce. We may even proceed to discover alternatives for world streaming transformation and optimize our asset portfolio by divesting sure belongings.
We’ve been reworking Paramount for the longer term and thanks on your onerous work as Paramount brings large worth to the merger with Skydance. Paramount stays the house of worthwhile mental property, delivering the very best leisure and vibrant inventive tradition to audiences all over the world. And, our properties are among the many most compelling within the business, together with CBS, the No. 1 broadcast community in the US, and our main free-to-air networks in the UK, Australia, Argentina and Chile; Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Iconic manufacturers similar to Showtime; one of many prime 5 SVOD providers in the US with Paramount+; and the world’s main free ad-supported streaming service in Pluto TV. After all, Paramount Photos continues to create motion pictures in quite a lot of genres which might be profitable on the field workplace, most just lately A Quiet Place: Day One, the newest addition to our 100-year-old library.
The deal will mix Skydance’s monetary sources, deep working expertise and cutting-edge expertise with Paramount’s iconic IP, deep movie and tv library, confirmed hit manufacturing capabilities and linear and streaming platforms reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers arise. And, we already know that Paramount and David Ellison-led Skydance can obtain unbelievable outcomes collectively, as evidenced by our robust 15-year partnership that has seen us launch extremely profitable movies and Film collection similar to Prime Gun: Maverick and Mission: Unattainable – Fallout.
With out the management of Sally and the Redstone household, the Paramount we all know immediately wouldn’t exist. It’s due to their imaginative and prescient and help over time that we now have turn into one of many world’s main world leisure firms with the very best groups within the business. We sincerely thank Sally and her complete household for his or her unwavering help and management. We’d additionally prefer to thank our Board of Administrators for his or her steerage alongside the best way. We recognize all the things they do on behalf of Paramount.
Most significantly, we wish to thank all of you, our Paramount world workforce, for all the things you’ve finished and proceed to do to take Paramount to the subsequent degree.
We all know you’ve questions and we are going to share as a lot info as attainable all through the method. Within the meantime, you possibly can learn extra in regards to the settlement within the press launch right here .
Thanks,
George, Chris and Brian
