Barry Diller Explores Bid to Take Control of Paramount
The New York Times
Mr. Diller, a digital media pioneer, lost a bidding war for Paramount Pictures decades ago. Now, he’s making a run at its parent company.
The billionaire Barry Diller is exploring a bid to take control of Paramount, the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
Mr. Diller’s digital-media conglomerate, IAC, has signed nondisclosure agreements with National Amusements, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, the people said. Nondisclosure agreements are a key step in deal making, allowing both sides to exchange confidential information.
Mr. Diller’s interest in Paramount is the latest twist in one of the most complex — and dramatic — efforts to sell a media company in several years. Paramount reached the brink of a deal in recent months with Skydance, a Hollywood studio, before talks abruptly fell apart.
The nondisclosure agreements were signed sometime after the possible deal between Paramount and Skydance fell through in June, two of the people said.
It’s unclear how far along the talks between IAC and National Amusements are. Others have also expressed interest in acquiring National Amusements, including the media and finance executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Steven Paul, the Hollywood executive best known for his work on the “Baby Geniuses” franchise.
A bid to take control of Paramount would be a coda of sorts for Mr. Diller, 82, who tried to acquire Paramount Pictures in the early ’90s. He was outbid by Sumner Redstone, the bellicose media mogul whose daughter, Shari, now controls the company.
