(Bloomberg) -- The controlling shareholders of Paramount Global, which has agreed to merge with filmmaker David Ellison’s Skydance Media, refinanced a loan owed by their family company with funds borrowed from Ellison’s father — the world’s third-richest man.
National Amusements, the theater company owned by Shari Redstone and her family, repaid a roughly $186 million term loan with money from the Ellison family, according to people familiar with the transaction. The term loan was due in May.
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., is worth $203 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Ellisons are in the process of taking control of Paramount Global, the parent of CBS, MTV and other media businesses. As part of that transaction, they plan to invest in the business and buy National Amusements.
National Amusements was the Redstone family’s original source of wealth. In addition to the movie theaters, it’s also the largest holder of Paramount voting shares, a situation that will change when the Ellison’s take over.
The NY Post reported earlier on the refinancing.
(Updates loan terms in second paragraph.)
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