Shari Redstone paid off $186M loan to Paramount's lenders — with bulk of cash coming from Larry Ellison: sources

Shari Redstone's Financial Situation - Shari Redstone paid off a $186 million debt owed by National Amusements, the holding company controlling 77.5% of Paramount's voting stock, using cash mostly fronted by Larry Ellison [1][2] - The debt carried an 11.5% interest rate and was not due until May 2025, but Redstone paid it off early [5] - Redstone was reportedly in a cash crunch as Paramount struggled with weak performance across its business units [6] - National Amusements had previously sold real estate assets to make a $40 million debt payment in February [6] Skydance-Paramount Merger Deal - Skydance and its partners agreed to pay $2.4 billion for National Amusements' stake in Paramount as part of an $8 billion deal that will lead to a merger [4] - The deal values Skydance at 1,600 times its EBITDA of $3 million for the 12 months ending June 30, 2024 [11][12] - Skydance will pay $15 per share for up to $4.3 billion of Paramount's common shares, about half of Paramount's market cap [14] - The merged company is projected to have EBITDA of $258 million in 2025, driven by the release of new films [15] Financial Projections and Concerns - Paramount's revenue is expected to grow from $974 million in 2024 to $2.3 billion in 2025 [19] - Some Paramount shareholders and analysts expressed concerns about the deal, with one analyst calling it "a bad deal" [16][17] - Paramount's second-largest shareholder urged the FCC to review Skydance's finances, which could delay the deal's closing [17] Industry Context - The Skydance-Paramount deal contrasts with Amazon's acquisition of MGM, which was valued at 27.5 times EBITDA [16] - Skydance is known for co-producing major film franchises like "Mission: Impossible" and "Top Gun" [2][13]