David Ellison, not Larry, to control family’s Paramount stake after deal
Movie producer David Ellison will control his family’s stake in Paramount Global once his Skydance Media completes its merger with the larger movie and TV company.
The Ellison family on Tuesday amended a filing with the Federal Communication Commission to show that Ellison, and not his father, Larry, will control their voting interest.
Ellison is merging his company into Paramount in a series of transactions. The Ellisons and their partner RedBird Capital Partners are buying out the Redstone family’s National Amusements Inc., which owns the majority of the voting stock in Paramount.
The partners are using additional cash to acquire some Paramount shares from stockholders and invest directly in the business.
The first lawsuit arrived Wednesday, three weeks after Paramount board members approved an $8-billion, two-phase deal with tech scion David Ellison and his backers.
An earlier filing with the commission said Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle Corp., would be the controlling shareholder.
Paramount owns TV networks including CBS and MTV, as well as its namesake film studio. Like a lot of legacy media companies, Paramount has struggled as consumers shift from traditional TV to streaming services.
The Redstone family decided to cede control of the company that was put together by Sumner Redstone, the late father of Paramount Chairwoman Shari Redstone. The merger with Skydance is expected to close in the first half of next year.
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