NEW YORK— Although Edgar Bronfman Jr. has made a counteroffer for Paramount Global, the company is moving forward with possible asset sales, including 12 local television stations that could be sold for $500 million to $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
At the beginning of July, Paramount Global agreed to a merger with Skydance Media to form “New Paramount.” The $8 billion deal includes all of Paramount’s media assets as well as the acquisition of National Amusements, Inc. (NAI), which holds the majority stake in Paramount.
However, Bronfman recently made a counter offer and is reportedly looking for a large technology company to partner with in the proposed acquisition.
As this saga unfolds, Bloomberg reports that Paramount “has hired a bank to help explore options, including a potential sale of a dozen television stations that the company considers non-core, the people said. They include independent stations in markets such as New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and Tampa, some of which were formerly part of the CW, one of the people said.”
Bloomberg also reported that “the stations could fetch $500 million to $1 billion if sold and are expected to attract interest from private equity firms and other broadcasters, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.”
The value of the stations could fluctuate significantly depending on the outcome of the presidential election, which will also determine whether the FCC is more willing to relax its ownership rules.
Commenting on the Bloomberg report, Richard Greenfield of LightShed Partners said: “Despite the ongoing sale of Paramount to Skydance/Redbird (which the Bronfman-led collective is trying to block), Paramount remains focused on improving its financial position through a combination of cost cutting and asset sales. Earlier this month, Paramount consolidated its TV production units and now there are news reports that Paramount is looking to sell 12 non-CBS-branded TV stations (some of which were formerly CW stations)… It is unclear who is interested in buying more TV stations given the growing headwinds for linear TV, not to mention a difficult regulatory climate for station acquisitions, especially if there is no change of administration in the fall.”
