(Bloomberg) — Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, is being acquired by software billionaire Larry Ellison after a group led by his son David completed the purchase of the Redstone family’s stake in the film and TV company, according to a legal filing.
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Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle Corp., is backing his son’s proposal to buy National Amusements Inc. from Redstone and take control of Paramount for more than $8 billion. The elder Ellison will own 77.5 percent of National Amusements through a trust and a series of corporations, according to a filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
The filing is required because the sale of Paramount involves the transfer of broadcast licenses. Paramount owns the CBS television network and several television stations. An FCC spokesman declined to comment on the filing.
Paramount has agreed to be acquired in a deal led by David Ellison and his Skydance Media, an independent film and television company. The Ellisons and their partner, RedBird Capital Partners, have agreed to buy National Amusements for $2.4 billion and invest more than $6 billion to acquire Paramount shares and reduce the company’s debt.
The remainder of National Amusements will be owned by private equity investor Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird. He is listed as the controlling person of RB Tentpole LP, a partnership that will own 22.5% of National Amusements if the deal goes through, the filing said.
Paramount, which also owns cable networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon, agreed in early July to be acquired by the Ellison family and RedBird. As part of the deal, Skydance Media will merge with Paramount.
David Ellison will serve as Paramount’s chairman and CEO, according to the filing. He will have operational control of the company, according to a Skydance spokesperson.
Larry Ellison is a major donor to Republican super PACs and his political views raise concerns about Paramount being used as a vehicle for conservative causes, said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington advocacy group.
“There must be guarantees of journalistic and editorial independence of the channel group and related video services,” Chester said in an email.
The FCC approves changes in ownership of broadcast TV stations. The filing says the new owners plan to “preserve and enhance the legacy” of the CBS TV network and the 28 local stations it owns and operates.
(Updated with advocacy group comment in third-to-last paragraph.)
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