I think this is one of the better case scenarios for Star Trek. Skydance is known as an actors or creators studio, and they have actually financed all the recent Star Trek films.
Paramount Reportedly Close To A Deal With Skydance
| APRIL 3, 2024 | BY:
ANTHONY PASCALE 36 COMMENTS SO FAR
Things are really heating up regarding the potential sale of Paramount Global, who own the Star Trek franchise.
Is Paramount ready to (Sky)dance?
Multiple outlets, including
Bloomberg, the
New York Times, and
Deadline are reporting that Paramount has begun exclusive negotiations with Skydance for their bid to purchase the media company. This means that for the time being, they have rejected the earlier
Apollo/Legendary Entertainment bid, which the
Wall Street Journal and
Variety report had risen to $26-27 Billion for the entire company. Skydance CEO David Ellison has been meeting with Shari Redstone, who owns a controlling share of Paramount Global’s voting stock, and has also met with Paramount Global’s special committee that assesses potential merger deals. Paramount Global stock shot up 15% in late trading on Wednesday after the reports of a tentative deal.
According to the reports, Skydance would first buy out Redstone’s National Amusements before taking over all of Paramount Global, without splitting it up. The exclusive window gives Paramount and Skydance 30 days to finalize a deal. As Paramount has been subject to takeover and sale interest, Redstone has shown preference for working with Ellison and Skdance, who have a pre-existing partnership that includes co-producing multiple feature films, including the last two Star Trek movies. Ellison is credited as an executive producer for both as well.
Skydance’s David Ellison at the premiere of Star Trek Beyond in 2016
As of now there are no details on what would happen to Paramount+, currently the home of streaming Star Trek originals. If Skydance were to take over all of Paramount Global, that would include the streamer. Recently, Paramount Global has set 2025 as the target year for the streaming service to turn a profit, which would potentially be around the same time as a complex deal like this could be completed.
For now, this is a developing story, but we will continue to monitor the latest business news and what it means for Star Trek fans.