Sony and Apollo reportedly make a $26B Paramount offer

Reportedly, movie group Paramount Global is being offered $26 billion by Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited individuals familiar with the matter, the companies reportedly submitted a non-binding offer letter on Wednesday. The letter was signed by Aaron Sobel, a partner at Apollo, and Tony Vinciquerra, the Chief Executive of Sony Pictures. Reuters requested a comment on the joint bid discussions between Sony's SPE and Apollo, which were reported in April. However, Apollo did not respond immediately. Regarding the Wall Street Journal article, Paramount and Sony declined to provide comments.

SPE would oversee the larger portion of the business and manage Paramount, which has a library of films that includes TV shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and films like "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible," and "Indiana Jones." In response to the decline in cable TV viewing, Paramount is striving to expand its streaming business and is currently engaged in exclusive merger talks with Skydance Media. The company is facing fierce competition from Netflix and Walt Disney.

Three executives have assumed the role of CEO in Shari Redstone's media business, replacing Bob Bakish. Furthermore, four independent members of the Paramount board are scheduled to retire at the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 4th. Some shareholders have raised concerns about the agreement with David Ellison's Skydance at Paramount and have urged the company to consider alternative offers, including the one from Apollo.

According to Bloomberg News, Ellison and Redstone, the majority owners of Paramount's voting shares, have made concessions to enhance the deal's appeal to shareholders. The time for Skydance's exclusive deal expires on Friday.