The future of Paramount was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after Shari Redstone scuttled a long-planned sale of the struggling entertainment company to Skydance Media, leaving a major Hollywood studio bobbing in uncertain waters.
Why did she do it? An individual close to the deal said Redstone communicated her decision to cancel the pending sale to Skydance on Tuesday morning — even before Paramount’s special committee was meant to meet on the matter.
Redstone’s concerns about her own legal liability and a dispute over whether to give both voting and non-voting shareholders a consent vote played deciding roles in the deal’s failure to launch, three individuals told TheWrap.