David Ellison in Talks to Take Over Paramount in $2B+ Deal, Merge With Skydance

David Ellison, movie producer and heir to a tech fortune, is in talks to take over Paramount Global in a $2B+ deal with the Redstone family.

Ellison would merge his production company Skydance, valued around $5B, with Paramount and serve as the combined company's CEO.

Shari Redstone has pursued a sale of Paramount for months and sees Ellison as the best option to rebuild the struggling studio.

Ellison's backers plan to invest billions to revamp Paramount, preserve Paramount+, and potentially sell some assets like BET.

The deal could face hurdles getting approval from Paramount shareholders due to Skydance's high valuation and dilution of their stake.