Skydance Nails Its Long-Awaited Deal for Paramount Global

(Bloomberg) — David Ellison achieved his long-sought acquisition of Paramount Global, the owner of MTV and CBS, as the company’s board endorsed a merger with his Skydance Media, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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The agreement, on which final paperwork was pending Sunday night, ends one of the messiest and most dramatic merger deals in recent history. An announcement could come soon, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting was confidential.

The Skydance-Paramount merger represents 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 has blessed the deal with Ellison, which will end her family’s stewardship of a media empire after four decades.

Ellison’s talks with Paramount and Redstone collapsed just a couple of weeks ago, shocking the company’s board, employees and shareholders. But the son of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison sustained contact with Redstone and revived the negotiations over the last several days.

The new terms include a higher valuation for National Amusements and stronger language indemnifying the Redstones’ company against litigation that may result from the deal.

(Updates with full board approval starting in first paragraph.)