Edgar Bronfman Jr. has formally submitted a $4.3 billion bid to take control of Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA) and quash an existing offer from Skydance Media, according to Bloomberg News.
The media executive and Seagram Co. spirits heir is offering to buy National Amusements Inc., the Redstone family holding company that owns the majority of Paramount’s voting stock, for about $1.75 billion, Bloomberg reported, who asked to not be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Bronfman will invest additional money in Paramount, including $1.5 billion to reduce debt.
The parent of CBS, MTV and other media businesses had already accepted an offer from Skydance, led by David Ellison, the son of Oracle Corp. (NSYE: ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison. Their merger agreement includes a 45-day period during which Paramount can review other offers, a period that expires Wednesday night.