For those who thought that David Ellison would wind up running entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) following the now-successful conclusion of the Paramount and Skydance merger, the truth of it will likely surprise. It will be Larry Ellison in charge therein, reports note, and that sent shares down fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
When the deal concludes, the Ellisons will own 77.5% of National Amusements, which owns a controlling portion of Paramount. David Ellison will serve as the chairman and CEO of Paramount and will have operational control of the business itself. Skydance and Paramount will ultimately merge, and Skydance will hand over $4.5 billion to shareholders along with an extra $1.5 billion directly to Paramount to shore up its balance sheet.
However, it looks like Larry Ellison will handle National Amusements, which is where the control of Paramount would, technically, lie. It may be a fine point, but it remains a point. Neither Paramount nor Skydance would comment on the matter, though.
Is Paramount a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, eight Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 28.79% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.06 per share implies 15.35% upside potential.
