Shari Redstone, who for months has been leading the charge to merge Paramount Global with David Ellison’s Skydance Media has, at the same time, been fighting a more personal battle with thyroid cancer.
Her spokesperson told Deadline in a statement, “Shari Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this spring. While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining all professional and philanthropic activities throughout her treatment, which is ongoing. She and her family are grateful that her prognosis is excellent.”
The diagnosis throws yet another wrench into the process of selling Paramount — the company built into a media empire by her late father, Sumner Redstone — after an already Baroque saga. The pending $8 billion merge with Skydance Media, proposed last summer, had seemed to be likely to close earlier this year. President Donald Trump then took legal action against CBS News over its handling of an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The lawsuit, now in mediation, and foot-dragging by the Federal Communications Commission in its review of the deal, have put it in a protracted limbo state. Just this week, a number of voices have expressed the first public doubts that it will be consummated.
Failing to close the merger will be a major setback for Redstone, who has spent the past decade taking the reins of CBS and Viacom and finally melding them together after internal opposition. While the current deal would enrich Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, and enable her to repay debt, a new sale at a lower price brings uncertainty. And it is difficult to foresee whether Trump’s animus against CBS would moderate with another buyer. Skydance’s acquisition is backed by Larry Ellison, the tech billionaire who is also a Trump donor and longtime supporter.
The post Shari Redstone Reveals She Is Undergoing Treatment For Thyroid Cancer appeared first on Deadline.
