Paramount Global owner calls off merger talks with Skydance Media

NEW YORK (AP) — National Amusements, which owns a majority voting stake in the embattled entertainment giant Paramount Global, says it has ended talks on a possible merger of Paramount with movie production company Skydance Media. The potential deal had drawn attention for weeks amid speculation about Paramount’s future. One recent media report even stated that Paramount and Skydance had agreed to terms of a deal that awaited signoff from Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone. A Tuesday statement from National Amusements merely noted that the two sides “have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms” for the deal. Skydance’s founder and CEO is David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison.