Apollo Global Management Inc.

Private equity dealmaking has picked up in recent months as more firms get comfortable deploying capital.

As part of the deal, Paramount Chair Shari Redstone agreed to sell National Amusements, which controls about 77 percent of the voting stock in Paramount, for $2.4 billion.

Paramount has been weighing a merger proposal from David Ellison, the head of Skydance Media.

As many as $15 billion in portfolio sales are set to close this year, which is triple the reported amount closed in each of the previous two years.

Terms include Ellison buying the family’s holdings for about $2 billion and merging Skydance into Paramount at a valuation of $5 billion.