Sony and Apollo send letter expressing interest in $26 billion Paramount buyout as company mulls Skydance bid

Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management have sent a letter to the Paramount Global board expressing interest in acquiring the company for about $26 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The expression of formal interest comes as David Ellison's Skydance Media, backed by private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR, awaits word from Paramount's special committee on whether the panel will recommend its bid to acquire the companyto controlling shareholder Shari Redstone.

Skydance Media hasn't heard anything from the special committee yet, though it expects to find out the special committee's recommendations on next moves as early as Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter. Paramount's panel could recommend approving Skydance's offer or rejecting it, or it could come back to the Skydance consortium with alternatives or changes.

Spokespeople for Paramount, Redstone's National Amusements, the special committee and Skydance declined to comment. Sony and Apollo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

If the special committee wants to continue negotiating with Skydance, or Redstone wants more time to consider her options while still talking to Ellison's company, the sides could extend an exclusivity window that ends Friday. It's also possible Skydance could walk away from the deal, which it has been negotiating on for months.

If Skydance walks away, Redstone could turn her attention to negotiating a deal with Sony and Apollo, which would give all common shareholders a premium payout on their shares.

Paramount Global shares jumped more than 12% on the news that Sony and Apollo submitted a letter formalizing its interest, earlier reported by The New York Times and The