Sony has withdrawn from the chase for Paramount Global and will not make a competing bid against Skydance, Screen understands.
Under the structure of the sale process the Paramount Global special committee can invite and consider rival bids for the media conglomerate during a 45-day “go-shop” period.
The period expires on August 21. However it can be extended to September 5 were Paramount Global to remain engaged in talks with another company or consortium that could deliver a “superior proposal”.
In that eventuality Skydance and its bid backer RedBird Capital would receive a $400m termination fee.
However at time of writing, Skydance founder David Ellison’s company remains in pole position after the proposed merger was announced last weekend.
Sony partnered with Apollo in a $26bn bid in May that had raised concerns in Hollywood that were it to prevail, Sony might fold Paramount into its operations and reduce the number of content buyers further still after Disney’s acquisition of Fox back in 2019.
Deadline Hollywood was first to report on Sony’s withdrawal from the process Sony did not come back to comment.
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