Sony Reportedly in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount
 

https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-re...-buy-paramount

Sony is reportedly in talks to join a joint bid with investment firm Apollo Global Management to acquire Paramount, according to an article from the New York Times today.

Per the report, Sony and Apollo Global Management have not yet submitted an official bid, but Sony chief executive Tony Vinciquerra held conversations with the investment firm last week. The terms of the possible bid are still apparently being worked out, but it would essentially offer cash for shares of Paramount, "in effect taking the company private through a joint venture."

The report adds that, if a bid and subsequent acquisition goes through, Sony would likely absorb Paramount's operations and brand it as a label of its own media empire. In addition to Paramount Pictures, the Paramount umbrella includes networks like Nickelodeon, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and - perhaps most notably - CBS, as well as Paramount+. In that, Paramount boasts IP like Spongebob Squarepants, Top Gun, Yellowstone, and the Sonic the Hedgehog films.

As Bloomberg, which also reported the news, points out, Sony is the only major entertainment studio without a general streaming service. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Paramount and its vast array of linear TV channels might be appealing for the company.

Today's report comes not long after National Amusements, Paramount's controlling company, signed off on a deal that would merge Paramount with Skydance Media, the production company behind movies like Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Late last year, reports emerged that Warner Bros. executives had also met with Paramount Pictures to talk about the possibility of a merger. We haven't, however, heard more about those talks since then.

Paramount shares shot up 12% in the wake of the news in after-hours trading today.

One of the interesting things about all this, Was Sony once tried to get the live action Sonic movie made, But that never got off the ground until Paramount got the rights.

No thanks. Don’t want Tom Rothman over anything else.

Good, somebody needs to buy Paramount, if only to fire Kurtzman and his cronies.

agreed Tom Rothman sucks

If this goes through, they'd get the rest of the rights to Garfield alongside the movie they're making. Which means possible sequel...?

So...
Warner Bros. buys up tons of old film and TV rights in the 1980s/90s but has been losing money ever since.
Sony takes over Columbia/Tri-Star
Disney buys out Pixar and 20th Century FOX and now has their own financial problems.
Sony and Paramount are now "talking."

Any rumors about Universal?

Paramount backing away from deal.

https://www.darkhorizons.com/paramou...way-from-deal/

A deal with Skydance lapsed and now it's back on for Sony, who's back at the negotiating table.

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/06/par...2kd9_PhnE1kCF8

Did Skydance even have enough? Also if Sony buys them, would they keep Paramount+ going since they'd rather license out their stuff on other streaming services?

Apparently yes, since it's back on with Skydance again and seems all but fully signed now. It seems the main reason is because Skydance didn't want to break up the company but Sony did?

https://www.darkhorizons.com/paramou...-merger-terms/

F*** that. Sony breaking up the company and taking heads was the only thing to look forward to in this.

Breaking the company up is something I think would be best as well. Besides, I don't think this merger will save Paramount in the slightest. Isn't Skydance just a production company?

That's what I thought until like 5 minutes ago.

Wow! The deal with Skydance fell apart at literally the last minute yesterday.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/par...ks-1236040673/

This might mean Sony is back on the table, if they're still willing?

Jesus Christ, I post that Simpsons clip of Bart trolling an auction house as a joke, how long is this game of merger hot potato going to go on?

This is all pretty unprecedented.

Skydance is back in the picture:

https://trekmovie.com/2024/07/02/par..._loTsymLVykRnQ

Sounds like the Skydance deal is completed.

https://www.darkhorizons.com/paramou...skydance-deal/

So if no better offers come before 8/21, then the deal will be done.

https://www.darkhorizons.com/paramou...ion-writedown/

There could be a possible sell of networks such as Nickelodeon. Who knows? Doug and My Life As a Teenage Robot got removed off Paramount+.

http://https://www.nickalive.net/202...d-bet.html?m=1
http://https://cordcuttersnews.com/n...for-paramount/

Didn't Disney buy the rights to Doug?

Nick owns the rights to the episodes they produced but yeah Disney does own him.

Maybe Sony can use the money from selling Spider-Man back to Marvel to complete the Paramount purchase?

None of those links are working for me.

https://www.nickalive.net/2024/12/pa...odeon.html?m=1
https://cordcuttersnews.com/nickelod...for-paramount/

Try now.

I’ve seen social media chatter that Iger wants to buy up Sega for Disney on account of last weekend’s box office defeat of Mufasa to Sonic 3. Figured it was mostly internet trolling.

So Paramount+ just lost about 300 million.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...ng-1236148263/

Alright, which streaming service will it be merged with? Here in Europe it already got merged with Peacock, will the same happen in the US?

I think it's also that kids don't care about Nickelodeon anymore. Remember how huge Nick was in the 90's? And then the early 2000's?

Might be done on 3/20.

https://cordcuttersnews.com/paramoun...d-fcc-hurdles/

Sorry if this is a dumb question: this is just Paramount but not Viacom as a whole? What does this mean for TMNT?

There is no more Viacom since 2022. It's all Paramount Global now.

I mean, my hope for Skydance with TMNT would be the same as my hope for Skydance with Star Trek. I hope they have people that care about the IPs that get in there, fire everybody they need to, napalm everything they're currently working on and start doing real quality works.

Everything they have going could stand to be axed, except for the NECA license. The IDW run in particular has been going on too long and needs to be put to bed.

But on the other hand… it’s Sony. Look at their comic book movie output. Yikes!

No no, Sony is out (despite the name of the thread). Skydance is in. Although... at least at it pertains to Star Trek... it sounded like Sony was really going to be the ones to go in and cut and fire everybody. Which scared Paramount a bit. Skydance is apparently at least a little bit willing to let at least some of the bigwigs keep their jobs.

So is this actually going to save Paramount or get Skydance in trouble?

https://trekmovie.com/2025/06/19/new...u4_NzKgijcUy7w

Great! Bring in a WHOLE NEW TEAM. Clean out everyone wrecking Star Trek.

It's done. The Skydance-Paramount deal is complete. Among many other things, Star Trek has a real chance now!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/media...erger-approved

https://trekmovie.com/2025/07/24/par...jq4vhw1igoEXGw

Brian Robbins, the co-CEO of Paramount Global and President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, shared his farewell statement as the deal with Skydance closes. He's mentioned how he and the company reinvigorated beloved properties and expanded franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Scream, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, A Quiet Place and Mission: Impossible. They've also worked on new takes on Mean Girls and The Naked Gun and the studio's highest-grossing movie Top Gun: Maverick.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...es-1236336963/