Apollo Offers $11 Billion for Paramount Studio, WSJ Reports

(Bloomberg) — Apollo Global Management Inc. offered to buy Paramount Global’s Hollywood studio for $11 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

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A sale of just the studio would amount to a breakup of Paramount Global, a media giant that also owns a stable of TV networks including CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon.

Apollo, a private equity firm, is one of several potential suitors circling Paramount Global as its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, weighs a possible sale of the company. Redstone’s family company, National Amusements Inc., holds a near 80% voting stake in Paramount.

The details of the offer couldn’t be learned, the Journal reported. The $11 billion price exceeds the current stock market value of Paramount Global, which has two classes of shares collectively valued at more than $8 billion.

The nonvoting Class B shares of Paramount rose as much as 10% to $12.36 following the report.

Paramount is also being courted by David Ellison’s Skydance Media, a partner with the company in films like Top Gun: Maverick. Skydance has sought to buy National Amusements and then merge with the larger Paramount. Ellison is the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corp.

Paramount executives said at a March 6 investor conference that their objective is to “create value for all of our shareholders.”

(Updates shares.)