Paramount
stock extended gains in premarket trading Monday after a report that the parent of Paramount may be sold.
Paramount, an entertainment company with a movie studio, television channels, and streaming services, could be worth $38 if assets are sold, said
Citi
in a note Monday. Paramount rose 1.3% to $17.07 after closing 12% higher on Friday.
Citi came to its conclusion with a sum-of-the-parts calculation. It breaks down Paramount into four pieces—cable networks, broadcast network, production assets, and the direct-to-consumer business. It currently rates the shares a Buy with a price target of $19.
Shari Redstone, the media mogul who controls National Amusements, is in talks to sell a controlling stake to independent film studio Skydance, the
New York Times
reported, citing people familiar with the talks. News outlets Puck and Deadline first reported the talks Thursday. National Amusements owns 77% of Paramount voting shares, as well as
CBS
and MTV. The talks may not lead to a deal and the pricing wasn’t revealed in the report.
Paramount declined to comment to Barron’s on Monday. Skydance didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal office hours.
A Paramount sale could kickstart at shake-up of movie and television studios’ ownership. The talks come as competitors
Comcast,
which owns NBCUniversal, and
Warner Bros. Discovery,
the owner of HBO and CNN, have also signaled interest in acquisitions and selloffs.
It shows the pressure media companies have come under with declining revenue from cable TV and the rise of streaming services.
Skydance is backed by RedBird Capital Partners, a private equity group. It was founded by David Ellison, the son of
Oracle
founder Larry Ellison.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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