Byron Allen has floated a $30 billion bid to buy Paramount Global according to the Allen Media Group, which confirmed the bid to TV Tech.
The bid includes $14.3 billion to buy all the outstanding shares of Paramount and assume its outstanding debts, which pushes the value of the deal up to about $30 billion.
The news, which was first reported in Bloomberg and Reuters, pushed up the price for Paramount's stock by 7.4% at 12:20 ET, but the stock was still trading below Allen’s offer, which may reflect investor skepticism that he could raise the money to consummate the purchase.
"Mr. Byron Allen did submit a bid on behalf of Allen Media Group and its strategic partners to purchase all of Paramount Global's outstanding shares,” the Allen Media Group said in an email to TV Tech. “We believe this $30 billion offer, which includes debt and equity, is the best solution for all of the Paramount Global shareholders, and the bid should be taken seriously and pursued."
Some analysts have argued that Allen would sell the Paramount studio and to keep Paramount’s streaming and linear TV assets, which include local stations, the CBS broadcast network, its cable networks and the Paramount+ streaming service. That would reduce the amount of money needed to about $15 billion.
