Apex’s purported alternate takeover bid for Paramount comes under scrutiny

Just when you thought the book was ready to close on the already drama-filled Paramount–Skydance merger, a new twist in the tale emerged July 31, 2024.

Multiple media outlets began reporting that a company called Apex Capital Trust had put forward an offer for Paramount assets July 12, 2024, purportedly taking advantage of the 45-day “go shop” period allowed by the tentative sale agreement signed by Paramount and Skydance.

These outlets referenced a press release that appeared on BusinessWire, a company that distributes and publishes press releases for a wide range of organizations ranging from massive conglomerates to smaller businesses.

However, the press release later disappeared from the site, and neither BusinessWire nor the press contact listed on the announcement could be reached for comment by multiple journalists. 

At least one major news outlet subsequently withdrew its report due to questions about the offer’s legitimacy. 

In the now-questionable offer, Apex was offering all cash, which could have scaled as high as $43 billion in value when accounting for debt assumption and future investments. Apex was also purportedly offering to cover the $400 million breakup fee to Skydance.

Skydance’s total offer for National Amusements, a family company that owns the controlling stake in Paramount, is valued at $28 billion.

Though the Skydance deal and Apex’s questionable offer cannot necessarily be compared apples-to-apples, it’s not clear why Apex would apparently be willing to offer up to $15 billion more for Paramount, which is currently shouldered with over $14 billion in debt and questionable financial future as its linear TV businesses, which include CBS, MTV, BET and more, continue to shrink and it has stumbled with direct to consumer streaming efforts as well.

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It was also not clear why news of the Apex offer was not announced earlier. 

Little is known about Apex, other than a boilerplate description in the now-deleted release describing it as a “multinational holding company.” The release claimed the company operates in finance and fintech as well as owning gold mines in North America.

None of those claims have been substantiated. 

Paramount stock initially jumped 1.6% on news of the purported Apex offer, but subsequently dropped after hours when questions about the offer, which is now being labeled by some outlets as a potential hoax, surfaced.