Edgar Bronfman Raises Offer for National Amusements, Paramount Stake to $6 Billion
The bid gives non-Redstone, nonvoting Paramount shareholders an option to sell shares at a premium
Edgar Bronfman Jr. has sweetened his offer for Shari Redstone’s media empire, a move that could scuttle her deal to sell to David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Bronfman has submitted a revised bid of $6 billion for National Amusements and a minority stake in Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter. He formally entered the fray on Monday night with a $4.3 billion offer.
Bronfman’s new bid includes $1.7 billion for a tender offer that would give non-Redstone, nonvoting Paramount shareholders an option to cash out at a premium of $16 a share, the people said.
Skydance’s $8 billion offer involves buying National Amusements, merging Skydance into Paramount and giving those nonvoting shareholders a similar option to cash out at about $15 per share.
The Skydance deal, reached last month, is subject to a “go-shop period”—in which other potential buyers can make offers—that was due to expire Wednesday.
While Bronfman’s fresh proposal is more similar to Skydance’s offer, it couldn’t be learned if he has secured financing. In an accompanying letter to the special committee of directors at Paramount with his bid, Bronfman lists two and half pages of individuals and institutions including Roku and Len Blavatnik’s investment company, Access Industries, as “permitted equity financing sources.”
Roku hasn’t committed to financing the deal, according to a person familiar with the situation.