Investors backing Edgar Bronfman’s bid for Paramount Global include producer Steven Paul and John Paul Dejoria, who began working on their own bid months ago, as well as child actor Brock Pierce and Nurali Aliyev, a Kazakh businessman and grandson of Kazakhstan’s former president. According to Deadline, other names in the mix are British investment firm BC Partners and Fortress Investment Group.
Media mogul Edgar Bronfman makes $4.3 billion bid for Paramount Global
Pierce, who starred in The Mighty Ducks, is a major cryptocurrency player and founder of Tether. His legal troubles have recently made headlines, with a flurry of lawsuits against a former cryptocurrency lender and a failed hotel project in Puerto Rico.
Bronfman stepped in last night with a $4.3 billion bid in an attempt to disrupt a merger deal between Skydance and Paramount that was announced on July 7 and was set to close at 11:59 p.m. ET on August 21 if a “superior” proposal didn’t arrive by then.
Bronfman's letter to Charles Phillips, head of Paramount's special board committee that evaluates offers, asks for an extension of a so-called "go-shop period," which the committee can do for 15 days if a competing offer appears viable, Deadline has learned. It said the group needs a few more days to present Paramount with signed financing commitments and a binding offer letter, Deadline has learned from a person with knowledge of the letter.
