Paramount's global chair Redstone to reap $180 mn in severance, benefits

Paramount Global's chair, Shari Redstone, will receive $180 million in severance and other benefits on top of millions from the sale of her stock in National Amusements to Skydance Media, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Redstone holds a 20% stake in National Amusements, Paramount's controlling shareholder, through two trusts in her name and is in line to receive about $350 million from its sale, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

 

Skydance CEO David Ellison's group will also pay off obligations that include a $70 million severance package for Redstone and an unfunded pension liability of $110 million as part of the acquisition, Bloomberg added.

 

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that Paramount will be controlled by software billionaire Larry Ellison after Skydance completes its purchase of the Redstone family's interest in the film and TV company.

 

Larry will own 77.5% of National Amusements through a trust and series of corporations, Bloomberg reported, citing a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission.

 

Larry's son David will serve as Paramount's chairman and CEO. He will have operational control of the business, a spokesperson for Skydance told Bloomberg.

 

Paramount Global and Skydance Media did not respond to Reuters' requests for comments.

 

Skydance signed a deal in July to acquire Paramount in a complex two-step process, with Larry, the co-founder of Oracle Corp, backing the proposal.

 

Skydance and its deal partners, including RedBird Capital Partners, will acquire National Amusements for $2.4 billion in cash.

Skydance will subsequently merge with Paramount, offering $4.5 billion in cash or stock to shareholders and providing an additional $1.5 billion for Paramount's balance sheet.

 

In August, media veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr withdrew from the race for Paramount, clearing the way for Skydance to take control of Shari Redstone's media empire and ending one of the most chaotic media bidding wars in recent history.

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