After weeks of negotiations, a Paramount and Skydance merger is happening, CNBC and Deadline reported.
CNBC said that Shari Redstone, the owner of a controlling stake in Paramount, has yet to sign the deal, but it could be formally announced in the coming days.
Skydance, the media company owned by David Ellison, the son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, is being backed in its bid for Paramount by the investment firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR.
The deal would make Ellison a major Hollywood player.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. Skydance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Paramount has fielded other offers, including one from Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures. But Redstone preferred the Skydance deal, CNBC reported, because it would keep Paramount together, unlike Apollo's plans to break apart the media conglomerate.
CNBC said the Skydance deal was valued at $8 billion. Redstone will receive $2 billion for National Amusements, a holding company that owns the majority of Paramount's voting shares. Skydance would also buy about 50% of Paramount class B shares and allocate $1.5 billion toward Paramount's balance sheet, the outlet reported.
The deal wouldn't require a shareholder vote, CNBC said, though Paramount's annual stockholder meeting is Tuesday.
In April, Paramount announced a leadership shake-up at the top, as CEO Bob Bakish stepped down and was replaced by a trio of senior executives known as the "Office of the CEO."
