There was one great question in the midst of all the kerfuffle over media company Paramount Global’s (PARA) sale to Skydance: where was Byron Allen? The producer and founder of Entertainment Studios expressed an interest in acquiring Paramount more than once, but his silence throughout the process was almost palpable. Now, new reports have emerged saying he’s not out yet, but the news didn’t help shares much, as Paramount slid over 3.5% on the news.
The time for such a move is running low, but there’s still time left on the proverbial shot clock. Paramount’s “go-shop” period runs out on August 21, and since the Apex Capital Trust offer appears to be a hoax, there’s room for Byron Allen to come back with some cash and make an offer himself.
Reports note that he’s also been working the private investor circuit, trying to pull the necessary cash together to meet or exceed Skydance’s offer. Interestingly, Allen offered $14.3 billion back in January, but ultimately, Skydance won out. With Allen currently owning several television channels—including the Weather Channel, among others—he might be able to make a decent play for the linear television business.
When TV Gets Too Dark
But Paramount had another problem on its hands, as it discovered that some episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution were too dark. Not like “it went into some weird subject matter” dark, but rather, “you couldn’t actually see the actors” dark. The show has been around since 2005, but it seems like it’s getting a lot darker than it would ordinarily.
According to reports from the show’s showrunners, the issue seems to be video compression, particularly when it comes to streaming. Side-by-side comparisons of some shots reveal that the video arriving at Paramount seems to be perfectly viewable, but screenshots of the released video look like they were shot in a mineshaft during an eclipse. This isn’t good news for Paramount, and unless it can get it together, it may lose ground to the growing array of streaming alternatives.
What Is Paramount Global’s Stock Target?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, seven Holds, and 10 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 32.98% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.07 per share implies 14.08% upside potential.
