Lars M. B. Anthonisen’s Post

This $11 billion offer for Paramount Pictures by Apollo highlights the evolving dynamics within the entertainment industry, where traditional media conglomerates are increasingly becoming targets for acquisition by private equity firms. The potential merger with Legendary Entertainment could signal a new era of content creation and distribution, leveraging Paramount's iconic library and Legendary's innovative storytelling. It's intriguing to consider the strategic synergies that might emerge from this union, possibly setting new benchmarks for the industry's future. This move might not just reshape Paramount, but also influence market trends, content accessibility, and the global entertainment landscape. #privateequity

I called this one. Basically it is $26 billion all-cash buyout of Paramount Global. This offer came from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management includes debt assumption and is above Paramount’s current $22 billion enterprise value. The proposal was sent to Paramount Global’s board, which is currently considering a merger proposal from Skydance Media that would keep the company public. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, has shown a preference for the Skydance proposal, supported by RedBird Capital Partners and KKR. I think Universal might potentially acquire Warner Bros in a similar fashion. Currently, many major film studios are in shits, with no immediate signs of improvement. I think we should expect mad summer. #hollywood #entertainment #film #filmmaking #tech #games #gaming #streaming #sony #wb #paramount #universal

With the recent merger between Paramount Pictures and Skydance, Cya Live would be a perfect technology partner of both Paramount Pictures and Skydance, where Cya Live can create similar celebrity movie watch parties that was hosted on its platform with Paramount Pictures back in 2019 where celebrities such as Kevin Smith and Danny Trejo used Cya Live to watch movies together with their fans and interact and engage in an immersive way through video chat and text chat. By providing Cya Live's fan engagement, social commerce and social media all-in-one platform to Paramount Pictures and Skydance through this merger can help disrupt these studios as disruptive technology entertainment companies! https://lnkd.in/g_G4qtHd #merger #investment #mergersandacquisitions #entertainment #technology #disrupt #studios #films #movies #streaming #media #digital #digitalmedia #tvshows #watchparty #celebrities #interactive #engaging #immersive #immersiveexperience #streamingservice #overthetop #ott #traditionalmedia #collaboration #engagement #transactions #monetization #futureofentertainment #futureofengagement #mediaempire #conglomerate #paramountpictures #skydance #filmmakers #revenue #revenuestreams #purchases #tickets #merch #videochat #textchat #allinone #platform #entertainmenttechnology #engagementtool #paramountarchives #kevinsmith #tickets #ticketedevents #virtual #meetandgreet #qanda #panel #watchtogether

🚨 As M&A Rumors Circulate on Paramount, Questions Arise Around its Assets #TMTSectorInsights from AlphaSense Another day, another M&A rumor in TMT - Skydance reportedly submitted a “best and final” offer 🤑 to acquire Paramount, which was exclusive until May 3rd. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management, Inc. have now joined the bidding process with a $26b bid. While management weighs the deal terms, regulatory scrutiny and fundamentals of the business remain key areas of debate 🗣️. #Expert thinks 💬 “Everyone's always like, "Oh, we're in the first inning or second inning." I would say we're in the fifth inning. I think you have the entrenched, entrenched is relative, but you have Netflix isn't going anywhere, you have Apple's not going anywhere just because they're deep-pocketed, and Amazon isn't going anywhere because they're also deep-pocketed 💰, but then you're going to see consolidation happen with NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and the smaller players like AMC Networks. I figure, if it's still MSG, those smaller linear players, you're going to see a lot of #shakeups there 🤯. The ones that matter now, The Walt Disney Company is the wild card, I don't really know what's happening there, but more of the core ones will remain the core ones. It'll be the players on the periphery that will matter or that will shake out. It's funny to say that because now I'm saying that Warner Bros. is now on the periphery, and I believe that.” #WallStreet thinks 💬 “We recognize that there is upside here pending the M&A process, especially with Sony-Apollo in the mix. However, #uncertainties remain 🤨 about the owner’s decision and #regulatory scrutiny in the pursuing months after an offer is accepted. We will revisit our rating once there’s more clarity on the acquirer and the terms of the offer.” What are your thoughts? ⬇️ #tmt #marketintelligence #insights #strategy

🚨 As M&A Rumors Circulate on Paramount, Questions Arise Around its Assets #TMTSectorInsights from AlphaSense Another day, another M&A rumor in TMT - Skydance reportedly submitted a “best and final” offer 🤑 to acquire Paramount, which was exclusive until May 3rd. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management, Inc. have now joined the bidding process with a $26b bid. While management weighs the deal terms, regulatory scrutiny and fundamentals of the business remain key areas of debate 🗣️. #Expert thinks 💬 “Everyone's always like, "Oh, we're in the first inning or second inning." I would say we're in the fifth inning. I think you have the entrenched, entrenched is relative, but you have Netflix isn't going anywhere, you have Apple's not going anywhere just because they're deep-pocketed, and Amazon isn't going anywhere because they're also deep-pocketed 💰, but then you're going to see consolidation happen with NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and the smaller players like AMC Networks. I figure, if it's still MSG, those smaller linear players, you're going to see a lot of #shakeups there 🤯. The ones that matter now, The Walt Disney Company is the wild card, I don't really know what's happening there, but more of the core ones will remain the core ones. It'll be the players on the periphery that will matter or that will shake out. It's funny to say that because now I'm saying that Warner Bros. is now on the periphery, and I believe that.” #WallStreet thinks 💬 “We recognize that there is upside here pending the M&A process, especially with Sony-Apollo in the mix. However, #uncertainties remain 🤨 about the owner’s decision and #regulatory scrutiny in the pursuing months after an offer is accepted. We will revisit our rating once there’s more clarity on the acquirer and the terms of the offer.” What are your thoughts? ⬇️ #tmt #marketintelligence #insights #strategy

Warner Bros. Discovery reported disappointing quarterly earnings, down 10% in shares, primarily due to underperforming movies like #TheColorPurple and #Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Q4 revenue was $10.28B, below the estimated $10.35B, with a loss of 16 cents per share, exceeding the expected 7 cents loss. Despite challenges in the film sector, the direct-to-consumer segment, including streaming, saw a 3% revenue increase to $2.53B. Free cash flow rose 33% to $3.31B. However, concerns persist about the company's long-term growth, leading to a 24% year-to-date decline in shares, closing at $8.61 on Friday. #BoycottWBD #FireJamesGunn #WarnerBrosDiscovery #DCComics #DCUniverse #WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery reported disappointing quarterly earnings, down 10% in shares, primarily due to underperforming movies like #TheColorPurple and #Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Q4 revenue was $10.28B, below the estimated $10.35B, with a loss of 16 cents per share, exceeding the expected 7 cents loss. Despite challenges in the film sector, the direct-to-consumer segment, including streaming, saw a 3% revenue increase to $2.53B. Free cash flow rose 33% to $3.31B. However, concerns persist about the company's long-term growth, leading to a 24% year-to-date decline in shares, closing at $8.61 on Friday. #BoycottWBD #FireJamesGunn #WarnerBrosDiscovery #DCComics #DCUniverse #WBD

📢 Exciting news from Hollywood! Paramount is set to merge with Skydance in a monumental $28bn deal. This strategic move is poised to reshape the entertainment industry. Read more about it in The Guardian article linked below, and let's discuss the potential implications of this mega-merger. #Paramount #Skydance #EntertainmentIndustry --- 📢 Hey everyone, check out this game-changing news from Hollywood! Paramount and Skydance are joining forces in a massive $28bn merger. The implications for the entertainment industry are huge. Dive into the details in The Guardian article below and let's chat about what this means for the future of entertainment. #Paramount #Skydance #EntertainmentIndustry [Link to The Guardian article] https://ift.tt/yVpiOZq

From Bloomberg: It’s been a busy spring for Legendary Entertainment. On March 1 the movie operation backed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. released Dune: Part Two, which has racked up global box-office receipts nearing $700 million. And it premiered Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which has taken in almost $500 million. Apollo, which controls $650 billion in assets, planned to merge the Paramount Pictures and Legendary studios under a single operation and invest in expanding the combined business. It may still come back with a fresh bid for Paramount when the period of exclusive talks with Skydance ends. But for now, while the prospect of a Paramount linkup is in limbo, Legendary Chief Executive Officer Josh Grode is charting a separate course for the company that would involve other deals financed by Apollo. Unlike those of larger, more indebted media counterparts such as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which have lost billions of dollars on #streaming services, Legendary’s financials are comparatively healthy. The company has no net debt and more than $500 million of cash on its balance sheet. Grode, who joined Legendary in 2018, says he’s seeking to combine the momentum of the studio’s movie franchises and the deep pockets of Apollo to acquire US and European #entertainment businesses focused on #film, #TV, #gaming and artificial intelligence, in deals that together could be worth tens of billions of dollars. That Legendary has been #Hollywood’s box-office leader in 2024 is a function of two circumstances. First, film output from its rivals has been minimal since the beginning of the year—and for the most part not blockbuster fare like the Dune and Kong pictures, which Warner Bros. distributed. Second, it’s the result of a strategy pursued by Grode and head of production Mary Parent to develop Legendary from a mere financier of movies and TV shows into a full-fledged studio handling the filmmaking process from script to screen. That allows Legendary to better control the quality of its titles and more accurately forecast their return on investment. Grode cut budgets on titles such as Netflix Inc.’s Enola Holmes and refocused Legendary’s spending on building franchises that can boost revenue across divisions that hadn’t always operated in sync. Dune is an example. Beyond the films, a spinoff series, Dune: Prophecy, is set to stream on Warner Bros.’ HBO Max service; Legendary licensed video gaming rights to developer Funcom Oslo AS; and the company’s comics arm is publishing graphic novels tied to the movies. Legendary’s so-called MonsterVerse, comprising the Godzilla and Kong characters, is undergoing similar treatment, with a TV series on Apple TV + and a mobile game slated for release this year. The company’s success is predicated on Grode’s ability to keep financing blockbusters with durable appeal—increasingly difficult in the Age of Streaming—and to keep the peace with distributors.

Is Warner Bros. Discovery on the Verge of Transformation or Turmoil? Warner Bros. Discovery's journey post-merger has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. Two years in, the entertainment giant faces mounting pressures amidst industry challenges and speculation about its future. Analysts have lowered stock price targets, citing concerns over financial performance and uncertainties in the media landscape. But amidst the turbulence, opportunities emerge. Leveraging its vast content assets across platforms like HBO Max and Discovery+, WBD has the potential to redefine the streaming landscape. IP franchises like DC and news network brands offer avenues for growth and innovation. As WBD navigates through this pivotal phase, what strategies should it adopt to overcome challenges and unlock its full potential? How will the media landscape evolve, and where does WBD stand in this dynamic ecosystem? Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Pictures, NBCUniversal #WarnerBrosDiscovery #MediaIndustry #MergersAndAcquisitions #BusinessStrategy #StreamingMedia #ContentStrategy #Leadership #Streaming #FutureofMedia #EntertainmentIndustry