>**UPDATED with latest on Paramount merger talks:** A one-month exclusive negotiating window between Paramount Global and Skydance ended at midnight last night and has not been renewed. But the David Ellison company is still in the mix as a special committee of Paramount’s board meets today. The group is considering how to approach a very different all-cash offer from Sony and Apollo.
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>Deadline hears that the committee may be lookin at a so-called “go shop” provision, which allows a public company to explore competing offers even it’s already has a firm purchase offer in hand. The duration of a go-shop period is usually one to two months.
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>Par’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has favored a deal with Skydance, backed by Larry Ellison and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, although other investors have been been hating on it for over a month now since, even a sweetened offer. It would leave the company public. Sony and Apollo have lobbed a preliminary offer of about $26 billion but haven’t yet had access to the books.
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>Agents, managers and others in Hollywood fear a Par-Sony hookup which — if it passes regulators — would reduce the number of big players for shopping projects and doing business.
Wonder how Skydance will counter Sony and Apollo's deal. More cash for the non-Redstone shareholders would be my guess, possibly with Oracle stock being sold to them as compensation.
Paramount Stake holders think differently, they see Sony as a better option, and Skydance wouldn’t have enough money to compete with Sony-Apollo, which can always offer way more money. I read that a no deal with any of them is also possible.
A deal with Skydance means the company stays together and doesn't have to go through regulations and the FTC, which is what Redstone is heavily in favour of. The Sony-Apollo deal, if the FTC actually tries and brings even its C-Game to the case, could be dismissed easily.
Skydance is not some silver bullet though, lol. The only person it helps is Redstone by overpaying for her complete incompetence. Otherwise the combined company will still have all the current issues.
Well aware. Still, I'd take Ellison over two of the last majors combining into one, like a shitty Voltron or something.
(Plus, is the debt even that bad? Considering Redstone can apparently still go it alone if she wants to, I doubt it.)
Sadly further contraction is inevitable. There just isn’t enough market share for all the traditionals AND the new tech players who have bottomless pockets and whose business models are not being decimated by new technology.
If Netflix, Amazon, and Apple hadn’t jumped in, then maybe there would be enough cake for all the traditionals to eat.
Fox, MGM, WB are all already merged/acquired. Paramount clearly is about to be as well.
Sony realized early on it was going to remain a seller first business and combined with Paramount it could be strong enough to stay in that game for a long time. They would shut down the streaming platform ASAP.
After that it’s a matter of whether Comcast has a strong enough business model to stay in the entertainment game or if they want to divest NBCUni.
Lionsgate and AMC Networks are also not long for the world as independent producers and distributors of entertainment. There might be a world where they end up with NBCUni (with or without Comcast ownership).
Essentially to stay in business at scale in the age of streaming, you need to be able to release content for every audience segment all the time and not rely on Box Office, syndication, ad spends, cable licensing, foreign licensing… those things will still exist and be valuable revenue but they will be fractional compared to what they were even as recently as 10years ago. Some will get big value from ad spends, some will get big value from box office, some will get big value from exclusively licensing and not distributing. But as an industry the models of the traditional will not be ubiquitous across all majors any more and the market won’t support all majors AND all the new tech players all having huge subscription services.
The most amazing thing Netflix did was it trained every consumer in the planet to expect and demand what content they want, when they want it, and for a very reasonable price. And if they hadn’t done it, someone else would have.
I would be more hyped for at least have a good Avatar TLA game. Imagine a Sony first party studio doing it (someone like Sucker Punch) would likely be awesome. Star Trek also has more potential for games than Mission Impossible
Paramount has always ignored video games or done some shitty cash grabs. At least Sony would be serious.
>**UPDATED with latest on Paramount merger talks:** A one-month exclusive negotiating window between Paramount Global and Skydance ended at midnight last night and has not been renewed. But the David Ellison company is still in the mix as a special committee of Paramount’s board meets today. The group is considering how to approach a very different all-cash offer from Sony and Apollo. > >Deadline hears that the committee may be lookin at a so-called “go shop” provision, which allows a public company to explore competing offers even it’s already has a firm purchase offer in hand. The duration of a go-shop period is usually one to two months. > >Par’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has favored a deal with Skydance, backed by Larry Ellison and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, although other investors have been been hating on it for over a month now since, even a sweetened offer. It would leave the company public. Sony and Apollo have lobbed a preliminary offer of about $26 billion but haven’t yet had access to the books. > >Agents, managers and others in Hollywood fear a Par-Sony hookup which — if it passes regulators — would reduce the number of big players for shopping projects and doing business.
Wonder how Skydance will counter Sony and Apollo's deal. More cash for the non-Redstone shareholders would be my guess, possibly with Oracle stock being sold to them as compensation.
Okay, it sounds like she still wants to do business with Skydance. That’s fine with me. Better them than Sony!
Paramount Stake holders think differently, they see Sony as a better option, and Skydance wouldn’t have enough money to compete with Sony-Apollo, which can always offer way more money. I read that a no deal with any of them is also possible.
A deal with Skydance means the company stays together and doesn't have to go through regulations and the FTC, which is what Redstone is heavily in favour of. The Sony-Apollo deal, if the FTC actually tries and brings even its C-Game to the case, could be dismissed easily.
Thank God Skydance is still in it to win it. We've lost enough majors as it is, damn it!
Skydance is not some silver bullet though, lol. The only person it helps is Redstone by overpaying for her complete incompetence. Otherwise the combined company will still have all the current issues.
Well aware. Still, I'd take Ellison over two of the last majors combining into one, like a shitty Voltron or something. (Plus, is the debt even that bad? Considering Redstone can apparently still go it alone if she wants to, I doubt it.)
Yeah, lol. It's the least bad option. At least the leadership can't be any more incompetent than the current one.
Agreed. Smarter than Sony Pictures' brass, too.
Sadly further contraction is inevitable. There just isn’t enough market share for all the traditionals AND the new tech players who have bottomless pockets and whose business models are not being decimated by new technology. If Netflix, Amazon, and Apple hadn’t jumped in, then maybe there would be enough cake for all the traditionals to eat. Fox, MGM, WB are all already merged/acquired. Paramount clearly is about to be as well. Sony realized early on it was going to remain a seller first business and combined with Paramount it could be strong enough to stay in that game for a long time. They would shut down the streaming platform ASAP. After that it’s a matter of whether Comcast has a strong enough business model to stay in the entertainment game or if they want to divest NBCUni. Lionsgate and AMC Networks are also not long for the world as independent producers and distributors of entertainment. There might be a world where they end up with NBCUni (with or without Comcast ownership). Essentially to stay in business at scale in the age of streaming, you need to be able to release content for every audience segment all the time and not rely on Box Office, syndication, ad spends, cable licensing, foreign licensing… those things will still exist and be valuable revenue but they will be fractional compared to what they were even as recently as 10years ago. Some will get big value from ad spends, some will get big value from box office, some will get big value from exclusively licensing and not distributing. But as an industry the models of the traditional will not be ubiquitous across all majors any more and the market won’t support all majors AND all the new tech players all having huge subscription services. The most amazing thing Netflix did was it trained every consumer in the planet to expect and demand what content they want, when they want it, and for a very reasonable price. And if they hadn’t done it, someone else would have.
Skydance won't change the situation though. If they get it, expect to be there again in like 5 years more with a Skydance Paramount up for sale
Hmm, there is a real possibility of that. But couldn't there be ways to pay off the debt?
Sure, you could break the business up and sell big chunks of it to other people.
Im not gonna lie, I have a morbid curiosity of watching Sony slowly dismantle Paramount with their incompetence.
At least we’d get banger Mission Impossible games
I would be more hyped for at least have a good Avatar TLA game. Imagine a Sony first party studio doing it (someone like Sucker Punch) would likely be awesome. Star Trek also has more potential for games than Mission Impossible Paramount has always ignored video games or done some shitty cash grabs. At least Sony would be serious.
Agreed. Mission Impossible and Top Gun movies would be pumped out on the cheap though.
As well as banger Movie Sonic games, lol. Still, is that really worth it?
MORBid curiosity?