Writer: Daybreak Chmielewski and Anirban Sen
(Reuters) – Media veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr dropped out of the Paramount International bidding race on Monday to take management of Shari Redstone for Skydance Media )’s media empire cleared the way in which.
Bronfman stated in a press release that his bidding group notified Paramount’s choose committee of its determination to withdraw from the method on Monday night time.
“We proceed to consider that Paramount International is a unprecedented firm with unmatched established manufacturers, belongings and expertise,” Bronfman stated in a press release. “Whereas there could also be variations, we consider that everybody concerned within the gross sales course of All of us consider that Paramount’s finest days are forward.”
A supply near Bronfman informed Reuters that Bronfman’s bid depends on participation from high-net-worth people who’re unwilling to share their private monetary data with Paramount’s particular committee and its advisers.
Final week, an funding group led by Bronfman proposed a $6 billion bid to accumulate a controlling stake in Paramount Footage, which would come with buying Nationwide Amusements, the media firm’s controlling shareholder.
Bronfman was unable to provide you with the fairness financing wanted for his bid, in response to one other individual conversant in the matter. A number of of Bronfman’s key fairness companions within the deal pulled out on the final minute, dashing his hopes of mounting a critical problem to the Skydance takeover, the sources added.
Bronfman’s bid, which known as for about $6.3 billion in fairness financing commitments, fell wanting that quantity, the sources stated, with out specifying how a lot Bronfman had raised.
The proposal had threatened Paramount Footage, which owns the eponymous movie studio, the CBS broadcast community and cable networks reminiscent of Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. The $8.4 billion deal reached between the trade and Skydance in July.
A spokesperson for Paramount’s particular committee couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. Skydance declined to remark.
