Paramount takeover saga heats up as Edgar Bronfman Jr places bid

[August 22, 2024]  (Reuters) - Veteran media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has sweetened his bid to take over Paramount Global, offering $6 billion for its controlling shareholder National Amusements and a minority stake in Paramount. 

A view of Paramount Studios's water tank in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Bronfman's original offer was for $4.3 billion, according to Reuters sources.

The competing offer for the home of Paramount Pictures, the CBS broadcast network and cable networks such as MTV threatens to undo a planned acquisition by tech scion David Ellison and his firm Skydance Media.

Paramount and Skydance Media signed a merger deal in early July. The agreement included a 45-day "go-shop" period to consider other offers. A special board committee has extended Wednesday's deadline until Sept. 5 for Bronfman's consortium.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G, Yuvraj Malik and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Pooja Desai, Devika Syamnath, Shinjini Ganguli and Alan Barona)

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