Revised Skydance offer would let Paramount shareholders cash out at $15/shr, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Skydance Media last week revised its offer for Paramount Global to buy up to a certain number of non-voting Paramount shares at $15 each, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday citing people familiar with the matter.

The new proposal values Paramount B-shares at a roughly 26% premium to Friday’s close, the report added.

A special committee of Paramount’s board agreed to recommend a deal with Skydance Media after its sweetened offer last week, the Wall Street Journal separately reported on Friday.

Skydance submitted a sweetened offer for its proposed merger with Paramount which is said to offer improved terms for both voting and non-voting Paramount shareholders, and provides more cash, a source told Reuters on Thursday.

National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount, wants Skydance to provide legal protection in the event of a lawsuit, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

It is not decided yet if Paramount will be given a “go-shop” period to see if it can get a superior offer to the Skydance deal or submit the deal to a shareholder vote, the NYT report said.

Skydance agreed to provide a minimum of $1.5 billion to pay down debt on Paramount’s balance sheet, according to the NYT report.

Paramount declined to comment on the WSJ and NYT reports while Skydance did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Skydance has spent months in negotiations with Paramount.

Meanwhile, a rival bidder, Sony (NYSE:) Pictures Entertainment, in partnership with Apollo Global Management (NYSE:), emerged late in the deal process, submitting a non-binding all-cash offer of $26 billion. It has since backed away from that initial proposal in favor of a more limited approach.