For seven months, media mogul Shari Redstone agitated for Paramount Global’s leaders to embrace her plan to hand the storied media company to tech scion David Ellison.
Paramount then-Chief Executive Bob Bakish and several board members resisted. Investors howled that the Ellison deal would give Redstone and her family a rich premium for their controlling Paramount shares — at the expense of regular shareholders. Undeterred, Redstone sacked Bakish, her longtime lieutenant, and four board members were shown the door.
By late Saturday, the Redstone family and Ellison's Skydance Media had agreed on major deal terms. Ellison — the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison — was poised to capture his hard-fought prize. Paramount’s weary workers checked their email, expecting a major announcement to land at any moment. Independent board directors scheduled a meeting for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to formally consider the deal.
But just as the meeting got underway, Redstone called with stunning news.
The Skydance deal was dead.
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