Paramount tycoon Shari Redstone - who's said to have helped inspire Succession - 'is considering selling her flagging empire to spend more time at her new Caribbean mansion'

Paramount's tycoon and chairwoman, who's life is said to have helped inspire the TV show Succession - is allegedly considering selling her flagging empire to spend more time at her new Caribbean mansion. 

Shari Redstone, 69, is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company to the $30 billion media conglomerate she inherited from her late father Sumner Redstone.  

According to the WSJ, Redstone is more focused on spending her time on non-media pursuits, including fighting antisemitism and spending more time with family at her new Caribbean mansion she's built.

She has three adult children - Brandon, Tyler, and Kimberlee - who she shares with her former husband Ira Korff. 

Redstone has met with Skydance Media Chief Executive David Ellison and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick about a potential sale in recent weeks, the outlet reported.  

As of Tuesday morning, Paramount's shares were down 20 percent over the last year, with $15.72 a share.    

Shari Redstone, 69, is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company to the media conglomerate she inherited from her late father Sumner Redstone

According to the WSJ, Redstone is more focused on spending her time on non-media pursuits, including fighting antisemitism and spending more time with family at her new Caribbean mansion she's built

And the NYTimes reported that two sources say Redstone is seriously considering relinquishing the company after a 'serious' suitor expressed interest.  

Redstone is adamant that Paramount Pictures - the movie studio subsidiary of the company - will not be sold on its own, and any potential buyers will have to cop the behemoth en masse.  

The company has been cutting costs and laying off workers in a bid to make positive earnings in 2024 - after a weak advertisement sales season. 

As many as 1,000 employees are expected to be sacked in the new year.  

With its streaming business Paramount+ losing money, and the structural decline of cable channels in general, people with knowledge of the matter are finding it unsurprising that Redstone is thinking about offloading the family business. 

Redstone and Paramount CEO Bob Bakish have tried to keep the firm together as much as possible - but have sold off a few assets in recent years.

Redstone is adamant that Paramount Pictures - the movie studio subsidiary of the company - will not be sold on its own, and any potential buyers will have to cop the behemoth en masse

Sumner Redstone and his family attend the ceremony honoring him with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held in front of the Hotel Roosevelt on March 30, 2012 in Hollywood, California

Paramount sold book publisher Simon & Schuster, but also declined other offers, including selling off Showtime for $3 billion.

In March this year, Paramount began looking into selling the lion's share of its stake in BET Media Group, with Tyler Perry as a potential buyer.

An insider told The Hollywood Reporter that Paramount has commenced with exploration on selling its stake in the conglomerate, which includes the BET network, BET+ streaming service and VH1.

At the time, sources told The Wall Street Journal, which first broke news of the potential sale, that Paramount's 'decision to consider selling a majority stake of the assets, which cater primarily to Black audiences, is part of the entertainment giant’s effort to shore up resources to bolster its flagship Paramount+ streaming service and its advertiser-supported free streaming platform Pluto TV.'

Whoever buys National Amusements will most likely split up Paramount Global’s assets - to make the most of the more lucrative wings of the company.

According to Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall, the company’s TV networks, including CBS Networks and Showtime would have a $13.5 billion equity value if divested.

This leaves the coveted movie studio Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios to be worth $19 billion, equating to $23 per share, Cahall said.

The former Beverly Hills, California, mansion of the late media magnate and billionaire Sumner Redstone

Earlier this year, Paramount said it was planning on merging Paramount+ with Showtime, which led to a number of layoffs and changes in management.

David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, is allegedly weighing up the pros and cons of bidding for Paramount, WSJ reports.

Skydance, whose CEO Redstone has also been in talks with, is backed by the private equity firm Redbird Capital Partners. 

That firm is helping fund CNN's former chief Jeff Zucker’s bid to takeover The Telegraph and The Spectator, two British newspapers currently on sale. 

Paramount, formerly known as ViacomCBS, owns cable networks like CBS, BET Networks, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. 

Selling Paramount would be an interesting and perhaps surprising move for Redstone, who fought bitter battles to gain control of the company during her father's ailing years.

Shari was ousted from the fold while her father's lovers Sydney Holland and Manuela  were in charge of him during his later years. 

Sumner - who contolled the media company for decades - sued the two women for elder abuse, demanding $150 million.  

The billionaire Viacom and CBS mogul was in a relationship with Sydney Holland for five years before he realized she had been fleecing him of millions alongside his other former flame, Manuela Herzer.

In Feburary this year, Warner Bros. sued Paramount Global for a whopping sum of $200 million over a South Park licensing deal.

The suit was filed after Warner signed a contract in 2019 with Paramount and paid $500 million for the exclusive rights of both old and new episodes of the popular comedic animation until 2025.

Later in 2021, Paramount's subsidiary, MTV, signed a massive $900 million contract with the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, also for exclusive South Park content in order to, 'help fuel Paramount+.'

Warner states in the lawsuit that the content still falls under its 2019 contract and alleged that Paramount was driving content to its own platform in a form of 'verbal trickery' and 'grammatical sleight-of-hand.'