Edgar Bronfman Jr. has withdrawn his offer to buy Paramount, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Monday evening.
“Tonight, our offering group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate,” Bronfman said in a statement to DAY. “We continue to believe that Paramount Global is an extraordinary company, with an unmatched collection of leading brands, assets and people. While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount's best days are yet to come. We congratulate the Skydance team and thank the special committee and the Redstone family for their commitment throughout the go-shop process.”
Bronfman initially made a bid of about $4.3 billion last week, which included $2.4 billion in debt and equity for Sheri Redstone’s holding company, National Amusements. Bronfman would also contribute $1.5 billion to Paramount’s balance sheet. A few days later, he increased that to $6 billion.
With Bronfman, heir to the Seagram family liquor fortune, out of the picture, the dust has settled for Skydance to move forward with its Paramount deal. Company executives say they expect the deal to close next year, pending regulatory approvals.
The proposed merger would see David Ellison and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital Partners invest $2.4 billion to buy National Amusements. If the deal closes, the offer values a combined Skydance-Paramount at $28 billion.
Bronfman was a last-minute bidder for Paramount, lining up a slew of other co-investors and partners, including media veterans Jon Miller and John Martin, as well as Fortress. His initial offer prompted a special committee of Paramount's board of directors to extend the “go shop” period in which the company could seek a higher offer, to no avail.