Shari Redstone said to be in talks to sell

Skydance could buy her stake in media empire

Media mogul Shari Redstone is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company of the sprawling news and entertainment empire that includes the Paramount movie studio, CBS, and MTV, according to three people familiar with the talks.

In recent weeks, National Amusements has held talks with Skydance, a media and entertainment company founded by David Ellison, who is the son of the billionaire founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison. It’s unclear whether a deal will be reached, and the value the talks place on Redstone’s stake couldn’t be determined.

A deal for Paramount, if it came to fruition, could be a starting gun for a far-reaching reordering of the media industry over the next year. Comcast, a TV and cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, is on the prowl for deals. Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of HBO and CNN, in effect, comes on the market next year because of arcane tax reasons.

Redstone, 69, who waged a bitter battle with her onetime allies to retain control of the company, now appears to be seriously considering relinquishing it. She has held out for years amid broader headwinds facing the traditional media industry but is exploring her options now that a serious suitor has expressed interest, two of the people said. Redstone’s holdings are facing some economic pressures, including long-term debt obligations and the unreliable advertising market for media companies such as Paramount.

Puck earlier reported that Redstone and Skydance were in talks. Spokespeople for National Amusements, Redstone, and Skydance declined to comment.

A deal for Redstone’s stake in National Amusements would represent a major changing of the guard in the media business.

Paramount has been in the Redstone family for decades, since Redstone’s father, bellicose dealmaker Sumner Redstone, won the company in a hard-fought bidding war that drew heavyweights including billionaire Barry Diller. Sumner Redstone began his media empire by expanding a chain of theaters founded by his father in Dedham, Mass.

Paramount, with its bundle of cable channels, a movie studio, and its CBS broadcast network, has long been considered an acquisition target. Redstone began holding conversations about a deal this year with parties including technology firms such as Amazon, Apple, and Netflix, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The feverish deal-making that seems poised to sweep the industry has partly been set off by the slow decline of television. For years, TV companies such as Paramount were buoyed by everrising payments from cable distributors. But in recent years, the business model of cable TV has begun to collapse as consumers have dropped their cable subscriptions and shifted to streaming services such as Netflix, leaving traditional television programmers looking for an exit.

Even streaming, once thought to be a savior of the media business, has begun to show signs of strain. Old-school TV companies such as Paramount, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. Discovery are pouring billions of dollars into building up streaming services in an attempt to catch Netflix, but none has so far managed to replicate the profits of cable TV.

Redstone is being advised by BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank founded by Byron Trott, a former Goldman Sachs partner who consults with some of America’s wealthiest and bestconnected family business owners. This year, BDT & MSD Partners said it was taking a $125 million stake in National Amusements that would help the parent company pay down its loan obligations.

At the end of last year, Redstone owned a controlling stake in National Amusements.