Hollywood giant Paramount Global agrees £21.8bn merger with Skydance Media

Hollywood giant Paramount Global has agreed a £21.8bn merger with Skydance Media in a deal that brings together two of the world’s biggest film studios.

The deal will see Paramount’s non-executive chairwoman Shari Redstone sell her family’s controlling stake in the group, ending their involvement in the company founded by her grandfather in 1936.

Paramount is one of Hollywood’s oldest film studios, having produced cinema classics such as The Godfather, Titanic and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, as well as the Mission: Impossible series.

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The group also owns television networks CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.

Hollywood giant Paramount Global has agreed a 28 billion US dollar (£21.8 billion) merger with Skydance Media in a deal that brings together two of the world's biggest film studios. ( Photo by Myung Jung Kim/PA Wire)Hollywood giant Paramount Global has agreed a 28 billion US dollar (£21.8 billion) merger with Skydance Media in a deal that brings together two of the world's biggest film studios. ( Photo by Myung Jung Kim/PA Wire)
Hollywood giant Paramount Global has agreed a 28 billion US dollar (£21.8 billion) merger with Skydance Media in a deal that brings together two of the world's biggest film studios. ( Photo by Myung Jung Kim/PA Wire)

Skydance Media is an independent film studio launched by billionaire David Ellison in 2010 and is backed by US private equity groups including RedBird.

Skydance has produced blockbusters including Top Gun: Maverick, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Ms Redstone said: “Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king.

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“Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment.”

The complex deal will see Skydance invest around £6.2bn to take over Paramount.

It comprises a two-stage transaction, in which Skydance will pay £1.9bn to buy National Amusements, which controls Paramount.

Skydance will then merge with Paramount.

The deal is set to close in the first half of 2025.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “In an era where streaming platform owners need to make a profit on their services, rather than letting losses build up in the quest to gain market share, Skydance will have to think long and hard about Paramount+’s future.

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Investors will also be hoping that Skydance can bring some new sparkle to the broader Paramount group, given how its share price performance has been truly miserable.”

Paramount Pictures can trace its roots back to 1912 when Adolph Zukor, the owner of a New York nickelodeon, released Queen Elizabeth, the first full-length drama shown in the US and founded the Famous Players Film Company. The following year, Mr Zukor began distributing his films through a new company called Paramount Pictures.

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