By Dawn Chmielewski
(Reuters) -Tech scion David Ellison moved one step closer to gaining control of Paramount Global, with a special committee voting Sunday to support a merger with his Skydance Media, a source close to the deal told Reuters.
Paramount’s full board, including its non-executive chair, Shari Redstone, is expected to approve the deal imminently, the source said.
The vote comes on the heels of a preliminary agreement reached last week to sell National Amusements, which holds a controlling stake in Paramount, to Ellison and his deal partners.
The final deal could be announced as soon as Monday.
The proposed merger would combine Paramount, with its namesake film studio and its CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon television networks, with its financial partner on several major film releases, including “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Mission: Impossible -Dead Reckoning” and “Star Trek Into Darkness”.
The deal comes weeks after Redstone abruptly called off negotiations with Skydance on June 11.
Skydance sweetened its offer for the family’s holding company, National Amusements, which controls 77% of Paramount’s voting shares. The new offer would net the Redstone family $1.75 billion, said one of the sources. It also enhanced legal protections from possible shareholder lawsuits, the source said.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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