(Bloomberg) — David Ellison moved closer to acquiring Paramount Global, owner of MTV and CBS, as a special committee of the company’s board endorsed a merger with his Skydance Media, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
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A deal would end one of the most confusing and dramatic merger deals in recent history. The full board is expected to approve the deal with the parties signing final paperwork on Sunday and an announcement coming on Monday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the meeting was confidential.
No final decision has been made and it is possible that discussions will fail. Another person with knowledge of the matter said the committee was still meeting and had not formally voted.
A Skydance-Paramount merger would represent just one step in a complicated deal. Ellison plans to acquire National Amusements, the holding company of Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, and then merge Skydance with Paramount. Redstone welcomed the deal with Ellison, which would end his family’s management of a media empire after four decades, but has yet to give final approval.
Ellison’s negotiations with Paramount and Redstone collapsed just a few weeks ago, shocking the company’s board, employees and shareholders. But the son of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison remained in touch with Redstone and resumed negotiations in recent days. The new terms include a higher valuation for National Amusements and stronger language that indemnifies the Redstones’ company against litigation that may result from the deal.
(Updates to indicate in third paragraph that meeting is still ongoing.)
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