Bronfman raises bid for National Amusements, Paramount stake to $6 billion, source says

By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman sweetened his offer to $6 billion for National Amusements and a minority stake in Paramount Global, according to a person familiar with the matter.

He had previously offered $4.3 billion, according to Reuters sources. Shares of Paramount rose more than 2.3% after the market closed. 

The competing offer for the home of Paramount Pictures, the CBS broadcast network and cable networks such as MTV threatens to undo a planned acquisition by tech scion David Ellison and his firm Skydance Media.

Bronfman's new bid includes $1.7 billion for a tender offer that would give non-Redstone, non-voting Paramount shareholders an option to cash out at a premium of $16 a share, the person said on condition of anonymity because the information was not public.

That compares to Paramount's agreement with Skydance, which has committed $4.3 billion to buy Class B shares for $15 cash each.

Skydance and National Amusements had agreed to a 45-day go-shop period, which is set to end on Wednesday and allowed Paramount to solicit and consider other offers. 



A special committee of the Paramount board agreed to extend the deadline to give it time to evaluate the new bid, according to the New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the changed offer.

Source: Investing.com