David Ellison’s Skydance Media is reportedly mulling an all-cash bid to take control of Paramount Global through National Amusements’ majority stake, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The potential bid would include backing from other Skydance investors, including his father Larry Ellison, the outlet noted, citing people familiar with the matter. In addition to the Oracle founder, Skydance’s investors include RedBird Capital, KKR and Chinese tech giant Tencent.
If successful, the Ellison-led group would pursue a second deal to merge Paramount and Skydance. The Journal noted that talks between Skydance and National Amusements are in the very early stages and that a potential deal could fall apart.