Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) saw its shares soar close to 12% after it was revealed Apollo, the private equity firm, was close to tabling a bid.
Apollo is believed to have made an offer worth US$11 billion for Paramount’s film and television studio, significantly higher than the market capitalisation of the entire company, which is around US$7.7 billion.
The deal will reportedly only include the Paramount studio division and not Paramount’s other operations such as CBS, former Viacom channels or BET.
Other bidders are believed to be interested in Paramount, including significant shareholder National Amusements, the Redstone family-owned media group.
Shari Redstone, who works as both president of National Amusements and non-exec chairwoman of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), is said to be keen on selling her controlling stake in the studio.
Last month, reports revealed a proposed merger between the media giant and Warner Bros Discovery was scrapped after several months of deliberation.
Other potential bidders include Skydance Media, the producer of films like Jack Reacher and Top Gun: Maverick, while CNBC parent Comcast is believed to be open to a partnership but not a takeover.