Business
Paramount, The Media Empire Behind CBS And ‘Top Gun,’ Agrees To Merge With Skydance
Paramount Global—the huge media conglomerate that owns CBS, MTV, and one of Hollywood’s most historic movie studios—has decided to merge with technology scion David Ellison’s Skydance Media, ending years of worry over the company’s future.
The agreement, revealed late Sunday, comes only weeks after Ellison’s previous offer to acquire Paramount crumbled at the last minute, surprising industry insiders and raising concerns about the struggling media company’s future.
Paramount, The Media Empire Behind CBS And ‘Top Gun,’ Agrees To Merge With Skydance
The transaction solidifies Ellison’s status as a media mogul, eliminating Shari Redstone’s control of Paramount through her family’s National Amusements holding company after her father, the late Sumner Redstone, won a fierce bidding war to put together the media empire in the 1980s.
Skydance will first acquire National Amusements before merging with Paramount, valuing the company at $4.75 billion.
The production firm founded by Ellison will “invest $2.4 billion to acquire National Amusements for cash and $4.5 billion for the stock/cash merger consideration to be paid for publicly traded Class A shares and Class B shares, as well as $1.5 billion of primary capital to be added to Paramount’s balance sheet,” according to the statement.
In a call with investors Monday morning, Ellison and Shell set out Paramount’s strategy, seeking to become a “technological leader” in the streaming industry and unveiling cost-cutting efforts worth $2 billion.
“We love the creative engine of this company, but obviously a big chunk of the company is in the linear world — and we know that linear is challenged and declining,” Shell said to the media. “I think a lot of us in the business know we’ve got to run these businesses in a different way as they decline.”
The agreement ends a dramatic and protracted saga that began in December. The two firms entered exclusive talks in April, leading to the departure of longtime Paramount CEO Bob Bakish. Meanwhile, the firm has been led by a trio of executives: Brian Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures; Chris McCarthy, CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios; and George Cheeks, CEO of CBS.
While legacy media firms have struggled in recent years, Paramount, with its wide portfolio of cable networks like MTV and Comedy Central, has been significantly exposed to the seismic consumer shift away from the old television model and toward streaming services. As services like Netflix grew popular, millions of individuals ditched cable packages to favor cheaper on-demand streaming TV and movies. Paramount, which relied heavily on the television industry, was caught off guard.
To offset dwindling cable income, Paramount invested billions of dollars developing its streaming service, Paramount+. However, it was late to the game, and like the competitor streaming platforms established by other legacy media corporations, the service has struggled to achieve enough customer momentum to offset its losses in the linear television industry.
The legendary company’s valuation has also plummeted due to the turmoil, with Paramount shares down more than 75% in the previous five years. At a company town hall last month, Robbins acknowledged that the conglomerate’s future had been a concern.
“We’d want to take a moment to acknowledge the problems posed by all of the M&A rumors surrounding our company. “We understand how difficult and disruptive this period has been,” Robbins added. “And while we cannot say that the noise will disappear, we are here today to lay out a go-forward plan that can set us up for success no matter what path the company chooses.”
While Redstone has been contacted recently about selling off sections of Paramount’s enormous media portfolio, including Showtime and the cable network BET, multiple high-priced bids to split the business were ultimately rejected.
Paramount, The Media Empire Behind CBS And ‘Top Gun,’ Agrees To Merge With Skydance
In recent months, as takeover bids for Paramount resumed, Sony Pictures and private equity company Apollo Global Management proposed a $26 billion deal that would have made Sony the majority shareholder and Apollo a minority shareholder. However, the deal would have resulted in the dissolution of Paramount, a possibility that Redstone opposed due to her affinity to the company her father had spent decades developing.
The sale to Skydance Media, launched in 2010 by David Ellison, son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, provided Redstone with an offer she could not refuse: billions of dollars in cash and the security of selling the family business to the heir of another titan who has vowed to invest in Paramount’s future. Skydance and Paramount also have a long history, collaborating in recent years to produce some of the box office’s biggest blockbusters, including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible” films.
“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” Redstone said in an interview. “Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment.”
SOURCE | CNN
Business
Subsidies for Electric Vehicles Cut as Consumer Interest Fades
Pressure is building on Canada’s electric vehicle manufacturers, and several are rethinking their stance on E.V.s in favor of plug-in hybrids. Automobile manufacturers are now bracing themselves for an even more challenging era in the Canadian market for electric vehicles (E.V.s).
President Kristian Aquilina of General Motors Canada claims that support and expectations are misaligned because the Canadian government is reducing subsidies for electric vehicles while trying to phase out gas-powered cars.
Manufacturers find pushing for an all-electric future in Canada increasingly difficult due to fewer consumer financial incentives and increasingly strict sales targets.
With subsidies totaling up to C$12,000 (about $8,500), Canadian consumers may save a tonne of money on electric automobiles. The federal government offers a rebate of up to $5,000 Canadian, and the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia provide further incentives of up to $7,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Ontario, which eliminated rebates in 2018, had the lowest market share for electric vehicles compared to Quebec and British Columbia, two regions that offered bigger incentives and thereby drove E.V. adoption in Canada.
Although this backing is dwindling, the province of Quebec has now declared that all subsidies will end in 2027. In June, the British Columbia government restricted incentives to a smaller subset of E.V. purchasers for “available funding” and higher-than-expected E.V. sales growth.
These reductions indicate a larger pattern: provincial governments reevaluate the sustainability of taxpayer-financed incentives for E.V.s as budget deficits widen.
With lofty goals to cut pollution from gas-powered cars and increase sales of electric vehicles, the Canadian government has reduced subsidies for these vehicles. Electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles will be mandatory for all new light-duty vehicle sales in Canada by 2035.
To meet our intermediate goals, 20% of new sales must be electric vehicles (E.V.s) by 2026 and 60% by 2030. Car companies are already under a lot of pressure due to dwindling incentives and increasing demands, and the clock is ticking faster by the second.
In addition, these rules impose new forms of responsibility. Automakers that do not reach their provincial sales targets may be subject to financial fines imposed by provinces such as British Columbia.
Canadian manufacturers are already under financial pressure from federal compliance credit system standards, which they must meet or face deficits. This system gives them credit for electric vehicle sales and infrastructure improvements, but it’s not without its challenges.
“The timing is not necessarily lining up very well, in that the purchase incentive support comes off just as mandates and regulations start to bite,” GMC Canada President Kristian Aquilina told Bloomberg. “It must make a difference.
Therefore, we must consider that. Despite the cutbacks, Aquilina argued that the government’s investment in enhancing the charging infrastructure could benefit E.V. sales.
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Business
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows 3rd-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Washington — Chewy shares fell about 2% overnight Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Roaring Kitty, a meme stock trader, sold his interest in the online pet retailer.
According to a beneficial ownership document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Roaring Kitty, whose legal name is Keith Gill, sold all his Chewy shares, totaling 6.6% of the company.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Plantation, Florida-based Chewy dropped 1.9% after hours to $26.19 per share.
Gill, an investor at the core of the meme stock craze, bought more than 9 million shares of Chewy in July, making him the company’s third-largest stakeholder.
Gill built a name for himself in 2021 by rallying ordinary investors around GameStop. At the time, the video game shop was fighting to stay in business, and major Wall Street hedge funds and investors were betting against it or shorting the stock. But Gill and those who agreed with him altered GameStop’s direction by purchasing thousands of shares despite practically all acknowledged criteria indicating that the firm was in deep peril.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
That triggered what is known as a “short squeeze,” in which large investors who had bet on GameStop were obliged to buy its swiftly increasing stock to offset significant losses.
Gill has expressed confidence in GameStop Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen’s ability to revamp the company following his success at Chewy. Cohen cofounded Chewy in 2011 and stepped down as CEO in 2018.
SOURCE | AP
Business
Canada CBC News CEO Catherine Tait Recalled to Parliamentary Committee
Canada CBC News reports that MPs have voted to recall CBC CEO Catherine Tait to a Commons committee for questioning, only a week after her last appearance, over the awarding of $18 million in bonuses to Canada CBC news executives.
The Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, and the NDP joined forces to re-invite Ms. Tait, her successor Marie-Philippe Bouchard, and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to appear before the Commons Heritage Committee.
Ms. Tait, who will relinquish her position as CEO and president of CBC/Radio Canada in January, addressed the committee last week. The House of Commons has passed a motion recalling her before the conclusion of her term, and she is now subject to an additional two hours of interrogation, which includes inquiries regarding bonuses.
MPs also resolved to summon Quebec broadcasting executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard, appointed as the new chief of CBC/Radio-Canada last week, to appear before she begins her new job following a House of Commons chamber debate.
Catherine Tait Exit Package
Catherine Tait rejected the Conservatives’ requests to deny an exit package, including bonuses, when she departed the position in January during last week’s committee hearing.
She also defended the award of $18.4 million in incentives to 1,194 staff members for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which concluded in March, following the broadcaster’s achievement of performance indicators.
Kevin Waugh, a Conservative committee member who introduced the motion, stated that his party aimed to ensure Ms. Tait was “accountable to taxpayers” before her departure in January.
He informed The Globe and Mail that “Canadians are dissatisfied with the bonuses” and that Catherine Tait‘s exit package, which will not be disclosed, is a cause for concern.
“I am apprehensive that she has not received her bonuses in over two years, and that the Minister of Heritage or Privy Council will lavish her with bonuses when she departs in January,” he stated.
The Liberals opposed a portion of the motion that claimed that “the Liberal threat to cut funding” had resulted in the elimination of hundreds of jobs at CBC/Radio-Canada.
Defunding CBC News Canada
The Heritage Minister informed The Globe that the claim was “hypocritical,” as the Conservatives intended to completely defund CBC.
“The Conservatives’ actions today are a clear example of hypocrisy.” Ms. St-Onge stated that performance bonuses increased by 65% during the Harper Conservatives’ tenure, while CBC News Atlantic Canada experienced substantial budget cutbacks.
“As a government, we do not require any lessons from a party that has pledged to reduce the funding of CBC/Radio-Canada and the 8,000 jobs associated with it during its campaign.”
During the Tuesday debate, NDP MP Niki Ashton stated that her party endorses the “banning of executive bonuses” at CBC News Atlantic Canada but is opposed to “the Conservatives’ full frontal attack” on the broadcaster.
She stated, “We require a robust public broadcaster, but not one that distributes executive bonuses and eliminates positions.”
If the Conservatives establish the next government, they intend to deprive the CBC of public funding while maintaining French services.
Catherine Tait defended CBC and rebuffed MPs’ assaults during last week’s committee hearing. “It is evident that the members of this committee are making a concerted effort to discredit the organization and vilify me,” she stated.
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