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Scott we're back with our second big
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story the fate of Paramount is up in the
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air looks like sher's going to run it
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herself after controlling shareholders
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Sher Redstone killed merger talks with
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Sky Dan earlier this week ending a
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monthlong saga that keeps going on I
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know you know we've talked about whether
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it's important or not but it's very
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interesting National amusements the
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Redstone family company that owns
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Paramount said the parties have not been
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able to reach a deal noting they could
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not agree on outstanding non-economic
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terms Redstone is now reportedly looking
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to pursue a separate sale of national M
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movements without trying to merge
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Paramount with another company I I I've
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been trying to figure it out um there's
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a Sony deal Apollo deal that was
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sticking out there but it was the only
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other one um there was a talk about a
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Paramount Warner Brothers merger there
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were all these plans to take CVS and
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have Jeff zooker and Jeff shell run it
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that's gone um I don't know what to say
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I guess David zoff is probably calling
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her I suppose um it's such a convoluted
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ownership structure and by the way media
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investor Edgar bronfin Jr backed by Bane
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capital is reported looking to make a $2
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billion offer for National amusements um
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Stephen Paul Hollywood producer stepen
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Paul is also lining up financing what do
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you do if you're a Paramount shareholder
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is there anything to do that shares
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dropped 8% on Tuesday again I don't want
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to make it I wish Paramount would
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develop be essentially really poorly
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trained or have a limp and that that the
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governor of South Dakota would just take
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this thing and shoot it and bury it in a
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gravel pet I am so sick of hearing about
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the neuroses of billionaires do you
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realize you know this is really an
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interesting and disparaging statement on
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America the only people going after this
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thing now are billionaire children Edgar
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brontman Jr Sher Redstone David Ellison
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what do they all have in common they've
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all inherited
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billions that those are the three
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players involved in this and then and
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then what did we Apollo and Sony well
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okay there but what did we predict
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Apollo's just waiting for this
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dysfunction to to pan out have at it
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have at it billionaire weirdos and when
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you're serious I had thought about that
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and when you're serious and realize this
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these pretzel weird gymnastic unnatural
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act deals fall apart because they make
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no [ __ ] sense and they never did
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we're here probably not at a price you
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like but we're here and you're right
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it's either going to go I don't know if
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Warner can do it with their debt right
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now I I think well they they' brought it
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down quite a bit they brought it down
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this is what's happened disciplined
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executive the company has been in play
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for 6 months when companies are in play
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their stocks go up in the last six
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months Paramount Global's stock has gone
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down 34% because all this drama has
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reflected is the controlling shareholder
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at Paramount is a
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billionaire child and the great thing
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about dynasties is usually usually the
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kid [ __ ] it up and spends most of dad's
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money and usually what's interesting is
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the grandkid looks up and says
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grandfather was a baller Grand dad was
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an idiot and they make some of it back
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but this is the next generation of
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idiots blowing their parents' money
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notice how no Institutional Investor is
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a serious bidder here yeah not yet
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they're waiting so and and again I'm
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just kind of like I can we just fast
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forward to when this thing has put out
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of its misery so so let me ask you then
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what is that what is the best
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answer here because there's some very
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valuable media no question split up give
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the movie company to a to to Sony give
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the cable companies to a larger rollup
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that will cut costs instead of
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pretending there's a future in cable
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just make Nana and po pop comfortable
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and cut cost faster than the business is
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declining because it's still a good
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business it's still a profitable
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business it's just not growing and call
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it a day H but Sherry my sense of Sherry
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is every time the bankers kind of
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convinced her this is the best deal she
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you know hangs out with Theo's wife and
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decides she's getting a shitty deal
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after a few glasses of Chardonnay and
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then blows the deal up I mean I would
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imagine every serious banker and every
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serious acquir is sort of like yeah
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we're just kind of done here we can't
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get a deal done with these people oddly
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enough I was talking to a very
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high-profile Banker who who is
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peripherally involved and this week and
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they're like this is all about personal
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drama 100% playing out in a thing and
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it's like someone needs to get a
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therapist which Sherry had a very I like
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Sherry um I've interviewed her several
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times but it's like she she can't run it
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herself she just isn't she just can't
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they're going to leave and by the way so
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these trip these triple CEOs at least
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two of them I understand are going to
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leave um they have a triple CEO
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situation in place um they're going to
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go it looks like you know they're going
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to get out of Dodge and they're they're
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saddled with all kinds of things but in
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in there is all this valuable IP all
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this really interesting IP um hit th hit
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shows lots of lots of Juicy bits here
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and it just to take the to watch this
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company you know Paramount Pictures was
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Paramount [ __ ] pictures right yeah
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and you know there there are some very
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Dynamic media companies still um this is
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not one of them and so I I just wonder
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it's so romantic the idea of buying it
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but it's so like I don't if I don't
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understand a deal I was like you're
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going to buy what and sell what to what
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what does this have to do with what's
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good for Paramount or what's good for
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CBS or whatever you know none of it has
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anything to do with what's good for the
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business but whenever you're selling
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anything whether it's a football team or
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a business you just really want to hope
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that the child of a billionaire or a kid
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who inherited billions shows up again
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notice how the only three people bidding
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on this thing right now are billionaire
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children yeah it's interesting I will
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say David Ellison's done a very good job
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as a movie producer made top very Shar
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Guy Star Star Trek and um you know I was
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kind of like why do you need to be he
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wanted a little more power right and
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this was a short trip to that presume
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for he thought it was a short trip to it
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but what a waste of his time go make
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another movie David go make another hit
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movie you're good at it but look at this
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is all ego billionaire kids are like I
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don't need money what do I want to do I
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want to go to the can film festival and
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the Oscars and I like movies so I get to
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do that and the serious investors the
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serious investors are like you we'll
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just sit this one out until they come to
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us and say they're willing to sell at a
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it Mak sense for our limiteds we're you
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know we have we're cursed with being
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grown-ups and we don't have billionaire
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parents so we need to act more
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rationally and a little bit more like
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see above grownups yeah absolutely
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anyway we'll see
