With 2025 now arriving, it might have seemed like a matter of time before the merger between Skydance and entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) would go through. Though with political forces at least considering intervening, a new report from Bloomberg notes that Mario Gabelli’s fight against the merger has not lessened either.
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Gabelli, one of Paramount Global’s largest shareholders via his various funds, is looking for a set of files out of Paramount. Specifically, these files contain information on how much money Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, will receive as a result of the merger. Gabelli has turned to a judge to get that information, reports note, which would give investors new perspective on whether the deal is fair to shareholders or not.
Gabelli noted that Paramount has refused to hand over those records, which would prove whether or not the Skydance purchase comes at a sufficient premium to “…siphon…value away from other shareholders,” a filing from Gabelli noted. But this is also just the “latest” demand for information that Gabelli has offered up, reports note. Paramount, meanwhile, declined to comment, the report noted. So too did one of Redstone’s own representatives.
A Rough Year for Employees
Meanwhile, a report from Fortune spelled out just how bad it was this year to be a Paramount employee. With around 2,000 workers hit by layoffs—including former CEO Bob Bakish—it was a rough time indeed. One employee, speaking to Fortune on a different matter, called the layoffs “…honestly traumatizing, honestly inhumane.”
Given that Paramount ultimately went to three CEOs in order to replace Bakish, and then proceeded to pare down “redundancies” while being slotted in the middle of the biggest redundant system of all, it makes sense that Paramount staff did not take it well. A separate report noted that the impact of the layoffs on Paramount staff was anything but positive. Employees who were put on notice of potential layoffs spent hours, even as long as weeks, waiting for the hammer to drop.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, seven Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23.23% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.44 per share implies 16.92% upside potential.
