Heading into the new year, the future of Paramount Global is very much up in the air.
Execs at the media conglomerate have discussed laying off more than 1,000 staffers in early 2024, as Paramount tries to rein in costs, the Wall Street Journal reported. As of the end of 2022, Paramount Global counted 24,500 full-time employees.
The potential cutbacks at the company come as media mogul Shari Redstone, whose National Amusements owns a controlling stake in Paramount Global, has been in talks to sell her shares in NAI — and thereby cede control of Paramount Global, according to multiple reports. Redstone has discussed a sale with Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who has teamed with private-equity firm RedBird Capital, and she separately met with departing Activision CEO Bobby Kotick about a possible deal, the Journal reported. National Amusements owns 10% of the equity of Paramount Global and roughly 77% of the voting shares.
Reps for Paramount Global, National Amusements and Skydance declined to comment. Industry newsletter Puck first reported that Skydance and RedBird were in talks with Redstone to acquire National Amusements.
In May 2023, National Amusements received a $125 million investment from BDT & MSD Partners, which specializes in investing in family-controlled businesses and estates, allowing NAI to pay off some existing debt that was secured by the company’s Paramount Global shares.
The expectation is that a buyer of National Amusements would look to split up Paramount Global’s assets. The company’s TV networks — including CBS and 28 CBS-owned local TV stations; Showtime; cable networks like MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central; and streaming service Pluto TV — would have a $13.5 billion equity value if divested, according to estimates by Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall. The remaining businesses, including Paramount Pictures, CBS Studios and production operations behind shows like Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone,” could be worth $19 billion, equating to $23 per share, he wrote in a Dec. 10 research note.
“If a transaction [for the sale of National Amusements] is consummated, the best way to create value would be quickly moving [Paramount Global’s] distribution assets into discontinued ops to focus on content,” Cahall wrote.
