In the latest twist in the months-long Paramount saga, Apex Capital Trust, which describes itself as as a multinational holding company and institutional investor in the finance and fintech sectors, said in a news release on Wednesday that it submitted a competing all-cash offer to acquire Paramount Global for up to $43 billion.
However, the bid’s legitimacy has sparked skepticism as a number of questionable developments have come to light, including the release being pulled from BusinessWire. Paramount’s stock closed up 1.6% during Wednesday’s trading session.
Representatives for BusinessWire did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment, while representatives for Paramount, National Amusements and Skydance declined to comment.
According to the release, the bid was sent to controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s National Amusements and an investment firm retained by the media conglomerate’s independent special committee on July 12 would purchase 100% of NAI’s capital stock for a price that combines the value of Paramount’s class A and B shares at $35.03 and $23.28 per share, respectively.
It would also include an additional amount for other assets held by NAI, subject to fair market valuation of those assets. In addition to its controlling stake in Paramount, NAI owns more 1,500 theaters under several brands, including Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas and Cinema de Lux and offers online ticketing, restaurant and bar services.
Apex said the offer would also purchase 100% of the remaining Class A stock from non-NAI shareholders at $35.03 per share, a 33% premium over the company’s 52-week-high price for Class A shares on the NASDAQ on July 12 and purchase 69% or more of each Class B shareholder’s stock at their election for $23.28 per share, representing a 33% premium over the 52-week high price on July 12.
Additionally, it would assume Paramount’s debt totaling approximately $15.8 billion and include a $400 million break-up fee for David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which reached an $8 billion merger agreement with Redstone earlier this month that is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.
Apex said its offer was contingent upon Paramount retaining all its assets through closing, is aimed at minimizing personnel disruption as well as preserving the company’s existing workforce. The company also expressed a commitment to infuse approximately $10 billion into Paramount’s working capital post-closing to implement its business plan designed for the following goals:
- Content creation, acquisition, protection and monetization
- Cutting-edge innovation, technology and AI, including quantum computing
- Consumer focus
- Global expansion
- The hiring of additional team members
“We are confident in the expertise of the investment firm and their willingness to move expeditiously and efficiently to evaluate this offer and submit it to the Special Committee of the Board of Paramount as a proposal that is substantially superior to the Skydance deal,” Apex’s general counsel Tatiana Logan said in a statement. “Paramount and its assets are a national treasure and we intend to treat them accordingly. Paramount’s global future is bright, but it requires resources, which we have and are enthusiastic to deploy, making it a win-win situation for all of Paramount’s stakeholders.”
Upon further investigation, Logan appears to have started at Apex just a month ago, according to her LinkedIn. Her profile also lists a website called Apex Capital Mega Trust, which was created in 2024 via GoDaddy and has no information, as well as Elwood Law, which gives a shoutout to the character Elle Woods of “Legally Blonde.”
The release stated that Apex holds a “significant stake in banks, credit unions, trust companies, escrow and trustee services providers, investment advisory, financial and tax planning companies, corporate management and fiduciary services providers, fund administrators, credit card processing centers, cryptocurrency issuers, blockchain technology and digital asset management companies, financial literacy program providers, identity theft protection companies, and actively producing gold mines in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.”
It also said the New York-based firm had been expanding its investments through the development of its proprietary biometric technology, which is utilized on credit, debit or other identification cards to significantly reduce or eliminate identity theft or other credit/debit card fraud. It also developed proprietary technology for phone-to-phone sharing of battery charge and remote phone recharging. Additionally, the release cited an investment in which Apex acquired 40% ownership of Simmtronics, a multinational technology company manufacturing phones and other electronic devices.
News of the purported bid was first reported by Reuters, with Deadline, Variety, Bloomberg and others also reporting it earlier in the day. Reuters later withdrew its story “pending further investigation about the legitimacy of the bid.”
