Just hours ago, we revealed that there may be a new deal back on between Paramount (NASDAQ:PARA) and Skydance Media, which—depending on how you look at it—would be the fourth attempt. And already, word is emerging about “uncertainty” as part of the deal in question. Regardless, investors are thrilled, as shares are up over 7% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
The deal is another attempt at the end-run, with Skydance buying National Amusements for $1.75 billion and then merging Paramount with National Amusements. Both sides have a 45-day “go-shop” agreement in place to allow other bidders a chance to chime in.
But the move isn’t sitting well with analysts already. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Geetha Ranganathan noted that there’s “…just a whole lot of uncertainty” around this deal, and that terms are “…not very clear at this point.” For those who wonder about the potential for lawsuits, reports suggest that the language in the buyout will protect Shari Redstone, who owns National Amusements, from litigation, if it comes around.
A Separate Deal?
Meanwhile, even as this goes on, there’s word that Paramount may sell off one chunk early, and separately. That chunk is Black Entertainment Television, also known as BET. In fact, the current CEO of BET, Scott Mills, is looking to make that buy himself, backed up by a coalition that includes CC Capital founder Chinh Chu. The offer is said to be valued between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion.
This, however, likely won’t sit well with Byron Allen, who made an offer of $3.5 billion to buy BET back in late 2023. Would Allen be willing to put his offer back in place? Seems like a long shot, especially given that Skydance is offering a little better than half that for National Amusements, which would give him a lot more than merely BET.
Is Paramount a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, six Holds and nine Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 27.75% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $11.68 per share implies 1.74% upside potential.
