Media veteran Bronfman raises bid for Paramount takeover to $6 billion, source says

By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman sweetened his bid to take over Paramount Global, offering $6 billion for its controlling shareholder National Amusements and a minority stake in Paramount, 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 2.4% after the market closed. 

Paramount said on Wednesday it had received an acquisition proposal from Bronfman on behalf of a consortium of investors, but it did not disclose the terms.

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 $3.2 billion in funds that can be used to pay down Paramount's debt or to purchase non-voting Paramount shares held by investors other than the Redstone family for $16 cash, the person said on condition of anonymity because the information was not public. 

The board and the Bronfman-led investor group would decide how to allocate those funds, the person added.

That compares to Skydance's $8.4 billion deal to take over Paramount through a complex, two-step transaction that involves Paramount acquiring Ellison's smaller independent media company in an all-stock transaction. 

Ellison and deal partner Redbird Capital Partners committed $4.3 billion to buy Paramount's Class B shares for $15 cash each. The partners also pledged to provide a minimum of $1.5 billion to the company's balance sheet.

Bronfman offered $2.4 billion in debt and equity for National Amusements, matching the terms of Skydance's purchase agreement, according to an acquisition proposal submitted on Monday to Paramount special committee Chairman Charles Phillips that was seen by Reuters.

National Amusements holds the Redstone family's controlling interest in Paramount.

Bronfman argued in the letter that his offer is superior because it would eliminate the risks and costs associated with combining Paramount and Skydance.

His bid, if successful, would cover a $400 million break fee owed to Skydance, the person said.

"We believe multiple board members support a bid that excludes the dilution from Skydance," Rich Greenfield, analyst at LightShed Partners said in a note published on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Skydance declined to comment and Bronfman did not respond to a request for comment.

Bronfman's investor group includes Fortress Investment Group and Jeff Ubben, founder and managing partner of Inclusive Capital Partners, according to an Aug. 19 letter seen by Reuters.

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce and Kazakhstan investor Nurali Aliyev, previously part of the Bronfman group, were no longer listed among the investors in revised documents provided to Paramount's board, an Aug. 20 letter seen by Reuters showed. That document also included 65 names of other parties Bronfman approached to discuss joining his investor group.

Skydance and Paramount had agreed to a 45-day "go-shop" period, to allow the publicly traded media company to solicit and consider other offers.  

A special board committee has extended Wednesday's deadline until Sept. 5 for Bronfman's consortium, Paramount said.



The Ellison-led group will have the opportunity to submit a counter-offer, the person said. 

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Bronfman's improved offer.

Source: Investing.com