Paramount said it's considering a competing acquisition bid led by Seagram heir and media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr., and will extend a so-called go-shop period with merger partner Skydance Media.Paramount, the owner of Paramount Pictures movie studio, the CBS television network and CBS News, had included the 45-day go-shop period, a window when it would consider competing offers, when it agreed to merge with movie studio Skydance last month.
The bid also includes an offer of $16 a share to non-voting Paramount shareholders, representing a 44% premium to Wednesday's closing price. Bronfman did not immediately reply to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch.By comparison, the Skydance deal offers $15 a share for non-voting investors, or one share of non-voting stock in the new company. Skydance offered to pay $2.4 billion for National Amusements.