Legendary media mogul Barry Diller is trying his luck again with Paramount, the studio that got away from him.
In the early 1990s, Diller lost a bid to buy the studio to Sumner Redstone, then head of Viacom.
Now 82, Diller is back in the game, exploring a bid to take control of a much more troubled Paramount Global, a person familiar with the matter told TheWrap on Monday.
Diller’s company, IAC, has signed confidentiality agreements with National Amusements, the holding company of Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, a person confirmed to TheWrap. The New York Times was first to report the news.
The potential offer comes after Redstone, the daughter of Sumner Redstone, last month called off a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance Media to acquire NAI and merge with the Hollywood studio. While the two sides agreed on the economic terms of the deal, there were still some outstanding issues they disagreed on, including whether to give all shareholders a consent vote on the sale.
Representatives for National Amusements, Paramount and IAC all declined to comment to TheWrap. Diller was reportedly out of bounds on a yacht in Europe — as media moguls are supposed to be in July.
The emergence of Diller, a billionaire who led Paramount Pictures during the heyday of television in the 1970s and ’80s, could be the missing link for Shari Redstone. She initially favored a Skydance deal because Ellison offered more promises to keep the company going — even though the deal was far less lucrative for Paramount shareholders than a $26 billion cash offer from an alliance of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management.
Redstone’s desire to keep the company largely intact – rather than allow it to be sold in pieces as Wall Street analysts have speculated – figured prominently in negotiations between the potential buyers, National Amusements and the special committee of Paramount’s board of directors evaluating the deals.
But Diller has a special history with the studio.
He served as CEO of Paramount Pictures from 1974 to 1984. Under his leadership, the studio produced popular television series such as “Laverne & Shirley” and “Cheers” and films such as “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
In 1983, he was also named president of the company’s Entertainment and Communications Group, which included Simon & Schuster, Inc., Madison Square Garden Corporation and SEGA Enterprises, Inc.
From 1984 to 1992, Diller left the company to become chairman and CEO of Fox Inc. and was responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company in addition to Fox’s film operations.
In the early 1990s, he unsuccessfully attempted to buy Paramount Communications. At the time, referring to Redstone’s winning bid to buy the legendary studio from Gulf+Western, Diller said in a statement: “They won. We lost. Next.”
Diller is also credited with mentoring a group of prominent Hollywood executives, dubbed “The Killer Dillers,” who themselves became influential figures. They included Michael Eisner, who was chairman of Paramount Pictures and later chairman and CEO of Disney; Jeffrey Katzenberg, Paramount’s production executive under Diller and later co-founder of DreamWorks SKG; and Dawn Steel, who later became president of Columbia Pictures.
In 1995, Diller founded IAC, an internet and media conglomerate that owns brands in 100 countries, including platforms like Tinder, print and digital publisher Dotdash Meredith and the website Care.com. The company acquired the assets of Silver King Broadcasting in 1996, which owned the Home Shopping Network, and USA Network in 1997. He currently serves as chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group.
Forbes estimated Diller’s net worth at $4.1 billion.
Paramount still in play
Paramount has been in the mix since last year. Skydance had a 30-day exclusive negotiating window with National Amusements, but last month Redstone decided it no longer wanted to do a deal. NAI controls about 77% of Paramount’s voting stock.
In addition to Skydance and the Sony-Apollo bid, Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen also made a $30 billion offer, including debt, though it was unclear how that offer would be financed. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also met with former Paramount CEO Bob Bakish about a possible merger, but those talks later fell apart.
Additionally, NAI received two separate expressions of interest from “Baby Geniuses” producer Steven Paul and former Warner Music Group CEO and Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr.
According to a person close to Redstone, all three offers are currently pending.
As Redstone weighs his options, Paramount is currently run by three co-CEOs — Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks — who replaced Bakish after he resigned in April.
The trio has outlined a long-term strategic plan that includes $500 million in cost cuts, asset divestments and partnering with other streamers or tech platforms in a streaming joint venture or long-term partnership. CNBC reported Monday that Warner Bros. Discovery is among the companies exploring a potential streamer merger with Paramount+ and Max.
In a meeting with employees last week, Paramount executives revealed that they have begun cutting costs, particularly in the legal and corporate marketing areas, though they did not reveal a timeline or confirm how many employees might be affected.
They have also hired bankers to help with asset sales, which could potentially include Pluto TV, BET, VH1 and the Paramount studio lot, which would be leased for studio use, four people familiar with the matter previously confirmed to TheWrap.
The company also said it is continuing discussions with potential partners in international markets that will “significantly transform the scale and economics” of its streaming business, which is currently on track to reach domestic profitability in 2025.
Paramount, which has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, saw its shares climb more than 3% after the close Monday. The stock has fallen 29% over the past six months and 37% over the past year. The company also faces $14.6 billion in long-term debt and its credit rating has been downgraded to junk status.
Paramount’s co-CEOs will update Wall Street on its long-term strategic plan during its second-quarter earnings call.
Additional reporting by Sharon Knolle, Lucas Manfredi and Sharon Waxman.
