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Tech billionaire Larry Ellison will control CBS parent Paramount Global after Skydance Media completes its purchase of the Redstone family’s interest in the film and TV company, according to a report.
The Oracle co-founder will own 77.5% of National Amusements, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, through a trust and series of corporations, according to a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission, first cited Bloomberg News on Thursday.
Skydance CEO and Larry’s son David will serve as Paramount’s chairman and CEO. He will have operational control of the business, a spokesperson for Skydance told Bloomberg.
Skydance Media signed a deal in July to acquire Paramount Global in a complex two-step process — with Larry — the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of $176 billion, according to Forbes — throwing his financial muscle behind the proposal.
The Ellisons intend to “preserve and enhance the legacy” of the CBS network, the filing said.
Skydance Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Ellisons and their partner, RedBird Capital Partners, will buy National Amusements for $2.4 billion and invest more than $6 billion into Paramount to acquire its shares and reduce its debt.
RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale will own 22.5% of National Amusements through RB Tentpole LP, a limited partnership, upon the completion of the acquisition, the filing said.
David and his financial partners, who include scandal-ridden former NBC Universal boss Jeff Shell, have signaled they are seeking to implement a sweeping $2 billion cost-cutting plan at Paramount upon its acquisition.
Shell was ousted last year after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with former CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, who was 16 years his junior. He then joined RedBird and is now set to become the president of Paramount upon the merger’s closing.
The decision to sell the Paramount Global – which owns stations including CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central — ends a decades-long family dynasty.
Shari Redstone, the 70-year-old daughter of media magnate Sumner Redstone, orchestrated the multi-billion dollar merger of CBS and Viacom in 2019 and became chairwoman of the conglomerate – reuniting her father’s companies after they split in 2006.
