(Bloomberg) — Film producer David Ellison’s bid for Paramount Global includes an option for non-voting shareholders to cash out a portion of their shares for about $15 each, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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The offer, a premium of about 26% over Friday’s closing price, is for just a few shares, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are not public.
Spokespeople for Paramount and Ellison’s Skydance Media declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the offer early Sunday.
The cash payment is Ellison’s latest attempt to soften the terms of a deal that has faced opposition from some investors. The son of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison is trying to take control of the film and TV giant through a multi-step process that involves buying a controlling stake from the Redstone family and merging his company with Paramount.
A third part of the transaction involves Ellison and his partners investing billions of dollars more into the business, either through a stock offering or debt repayment. Its backers include RedBird Capital Partners and KKR & Co. Skydance agreed to invest a minimum of $1.5 billion to pay down debt on Paramount’s balance sheet as part of a sweetened offer, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources.
A special committee of Paramount board members recommended Ellison’s final terms last week. Now the decision is largely in the hands of Shari Redstone, president of Paramount and matriarch of the family that owns about 77% of the voting stock.
Paramount’s annual meeting is Tuesday.
Ellison’s negotiations with Paramount began last year. The 41-year-old producer of films such as Top Gun: Maverick had to increase his offer as investors such as Mario Gabelli and John Rogers of Ariel Investment expressed concern that the Redstones were being bought at a premium and other investors face dilution.
Apollo Global Management Inc. made a non-binding offer for Paramount in partnership with Sony Group Corp.
Read more: Shari Redstone has three options for Paramount
(Updates with debt repayment proposal report in fifth paragraph. An earlier version of the story corrected the composition of the special committee.)
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