Paramount shares jump after reports of takeover interest

Paramount Global shares surged Friday following reports from Deadline and Puck News that Skydance and RedBird Capital were exploring potentially taking over the media giant.

Paramount shares closed up more than 12% Friday. The company has a market cap of about $10.4 billion and its year to date share price is virtually flat, lagging the S&P 500’s 20% gain.

Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has been open to making big deals, especially as the company weathers the storms of declining revenue and streaming losses.

RedBird, controlled by longtime former Goldman Sachs partner Gerry Cardinale, is invested in a variety of media and sports assets, including David Ellison’s Skydance, which helped produce Paramount’s 2022 blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” among other hits.

Paramount has a long-term debt load of $15.6 billion, and investors have speculated about how the company will be able to forge a path in 2024. TV ad revenue was also a weak spot for the company in its most recent quarterly report.

Meanwhile, the company is reportedly considering bundling its Paramount+ streaming service with Apple TV+.

Paramount, RedBird Capital and Skydance did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

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