Sony and Apollo make $26 billion all-cash offer for Paramount
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management has submitted an all cash $26 billion offer for Paramount Global. This is in the Journal Journal report. The offer, according to the Journal, is a starting point for negotiations and is non binding. But the shares did jump yesterday after the offer was reported. Sony would become the significant majority shareholder, with Apollo taking a minority stake and ceding operational control. And Paramount is in an exclusive negotiating period. Negotiation period with Skydance Media. It ends at the end of today. Ends today. Is this, Does Sherri Redstone get what she wants with this deal? Do we know? Is it more fair to shareholders? Is it? Well, I mean in terms of just straight fairness to the broad shareholder base, yeah, it’s better you would you would think by default it would be, but I’m sure that you know, she would argue and I will see what ultimately happens with this special committee whether they decide that they think longer term they can make a go of it. You know as a with Skydance. Yeah. It’s a it’s a totally different there, there it’s it’s it’s you know it’s apples and oranges. This is why I came to you for I was hoping to get a a clear explanation. Yep. Let me ask you this then can you is apples to apples that if she had decided to do this five years ago it was 8 billion and it’s now 2 billion is that apples to apples? No. Apples to apples is just simply what would what, what was the most the Redstone family could have gotten at one point with this because 2 billion. Yeah. Yeah. Eight. Yeah. Eight. Well, that’s what I mean. This is like succession. This is like watching this thing just slow. This why? Part of the reason that they turned on Bob Backish too. Yeah, you know, they, they were mad at Bob Backus for not taking that deal at the beginning of of the pandemic in 2020. Although I would say if Sherry Redstone really wanted to do that deal, she could have made them take it at that point. And how much of that was scapegoating for some of those issues. But that’s when streaming was going to the moon, Netflix was taking off, everybody was staying home and watching. So yeah, there’s plenty of blame to go around. But the valuation that was seen just a few years ago is not there today. I mean, you know, for the Air’s world’s smallest violin obviously. But still that is that’s a big, that’s that’s kind of sad to have that sort of built up by by your it’s it’s bother and a tough and challenge and it’s it’s a change. It’s a change in how Wall Street valued these things, right. Everybody. They wanted everybody to chase Netflix and pour all kinds of money into it. Yeah. But it was a change in how Wall Street valued. Jeff Beukes looks like a genius at this point, right, Right. And Becky, by the way, we should say he’s going to have Mario Gabelli on in a little bit, right? Yes. And and Mario Gabelli is a major owner in Paramount. And and by the way, we’ll also be talking to John Rogers tomorrow. They own a major chunk of it. And Berkshire as of the latest filing, more than 9.6%, I think, too. So three major players in those discussions. We’ll definitely get into it. When we come back though. Our first guest live from Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, we’ll be talking to the CEO of portfolio company Oriental Trading Company. Steve Mendlik will join us next and a programming note for you tomorrow. We will have full coverage of the annual meeting as Buffett takes the stage to answer shareholder questions. You can TuneIn to cnbcandcnbc.com starting at 9:30 AM Eastern Time. Squawk Box will be right back.