A few weeks back, a report from the New York Times suggested that Sony was currently in talks with a monied partner, Apollo Global Management, to buy the legendary picture house Paramount. Well, the twosome has now drawn up terms, reportedly making an all-cash offer of $26 billion, which, if accepted, could open up Paramount's stockpiled IP for future collaboration.
A new report, this time from the Wall Street Journal (thanks, PSU), says that the extremely liquid offer has already been made. Previously, Apollo had made an independent bid, again for $26 billion, plus equity, but the WSJ reports there were concerns the firm wouldn't be able to secure the necessary financing. Skydance Media is reportedly the other front-runner for the purchase, but shareholders at Paramount were concerned that that specific deal would give controlling shareholder Shari Redstone too much power.
It remains to be seen if the bid will be accepted, but Skydance's exclusive negotiating window is about to expire, so it seems Sony wants to get in while the getting's good. We'll keep an eye on this story as it develops.