21st Century Fox is among several dozen companies interested in acquiring a minority stake in Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, The Post has learned.
Fox recently signaled its interest and would be interested in a deal to invest in the studio — worth $5 billion to $6 billion by some estimates — if it could provide synergies to the fabled Tinseltown movie studio, sources said.
Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman, amid a cratering stock price and falling ratings, said on Feb. 23 that the media giant was considering selling a “significant” minority stake in the 104-year-old studio, which had a 5.9 percent market share of the movie business in 2015, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
Fox owned an 11.3 percent share of the movie business last year.
Wall Street’s keeping a close watch on Viacom right now. Its controlling shareholder, Sumner Redstone, soon to turn 93, is in failing health.
Dauman finds himself under pressure to turn the company around after a period of poor performance and cost-cutting at the studio.
Paramount, run by Brad Grey, is known for movies like “The Godfather” and “Mission Impossible.” Its summer slate includes “Star Trek Beyond” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.”
Viacom is expected to use the proceeds from the Paramount stake sale to pay down debt, among other things.
While Fox has expressed interest, Viacom has thus far given it the cold shoulder, sources said.
Some in Hollywood have taken that to mean Viacom is looking for a different kind of partner, one solely interested in the studio as a passive investment.
There have been no talks between the two companies, sources said. “As it is configured, there’s no interest,” said a source.
Viacom hired PJT Partners to shop the stake after, it said, it received expressions of interest from prospective partners.
Others kicking the tires are China-based media companies such as Alibaba and Dalian Wanda, according to reports.
‘In this time of change and enormous opportunity in our industry, a partnership will bring significant benefit to Paramount and Viacom…’
- Philippe Dauman, Viacom CEO
While some Tinseltown sources describe Viacom as being interested in solely a passive partner, others maintain that is not the case.
Those sources point to Dauman’s comments back in February: “In this time of change and enormous opportunity in our industry, a partnership will bring significant benefit to Paramount and Viacom, both strategically and financially, provide new opportunities for Paramount’s employees and talent, and enhance long-term value for all Viacom shareholders.”
Fox isn’t alone in viewing a minority stake as unappealing.
DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Media and Telecom Conference on Feb. 26, said he wouldn’t bite at a minority Paramount stake — but would rather buy the entire studio.
Viacom shares closed Tuesday at $40.14, down 23 cents. Shares are down 41 percent over the past year.
Eric Jackson, managing director at SpringOwl Asset Management, an activist investor, told The Post: “[The Paramount sale] is the minimum he [Dauman] can do to juice the stock without giving up control or anything that really changes the collection of assets.”
Fox shares ownership with News Corp., which owns The Post.