Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, Paramount Global’s Controlling Shareholder, Gets $125M Investment From BDT Capital Partners

The Saturdays’ Vanessa White, 33, and boyfriend Emmanuel Lawal have allegedly ended their relationship. After spending three years together, the couple have called it quits and chosen to separate. An insider told The Sun: “Vanessa and Emmanuel struck up a relationship during lockdown and quickly got close.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Vivendi, the parent company of Canal+ Group, has received the green light from the European Commission to proceed with the acquisition of Lagardère, the French media, publishing and travel retail conglomerate. This European Commission has given its approval under Vivendi’s two proposed commitments, starting with the sale of 100% of the share capital of its publishing group Editis, as well as the full sale of Gala magazine. Vivendi said it expects to close both deals by the end of October. It entered into exclusive negotiations to sell Editis to a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest (CMI) founded by Daniel Kretinsky, in March. With the acquisition of Lagardère group, Vivendi’s payroll will rise to 66,000 employees compared to 38,000 at the end of December 2022, with a stronger presence in key markets such as France, the U.K., Spain and the US.

Paramount Global is “deep into the marketing process” for publisher Simon & Schuster and can see a path to closing a deal this year, CFO Naveen Chopra said today, putting the first timeframe on a sale.

“Duck Family Treasure” Season 2 debuts June 11 on streaming platform Fox Nation. Fox News Channel will air an episode from the reality series’ new season at 10 p.m. on June 11.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Charades (“Mirai,” “I Lost My Body”) has acquired “Flow,” a 3D animated feature directed by Gints Zilbalodis, the Annie-nominated filmmaker of “Away”. Produced by Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio and Take Five, “Flow” will be presented in the Work-in-Progress section in Annecy. Zilbalodis penned the feature with Matiss Kaza at Dream Well Studio and Ron Dyens (“Barking Island”) at Sacrebleu Productions who are acting as co-writers and producers. “Flow” is currently in production in Marseille, Paris and Bruxelles, with an expected delivery date during the second quarter of 2024.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores (“Mediterraneo”) is back behind the camera on “Napoli – New York,” a period immigration drama based on a story written for the screen by Federico Fellini. Fellini co-wrote the tale of two Neapolitan kids who embark on a ship to New York to escape Italy’s early postwar poverty with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles. Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino (“The Traitor,” “Nostalgia”) stars as the chief officer of the ship which the two kids, named Carmine and Celestina, manage to board surreptitiously in the port of Naples, becoming clandestine passengers. The youngsters are on a mission to reach the U.S. where they dream of living with Celestina’s sister, who emigrated to New York two years earlier. Newcomers Dea Lanzaro e Antonio Guerra play the kids. (See first-look image above of Favino with the kids and Salvatores.)

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent One of France’s largest studio complexes, the Studios of Bry-sur-Marne, have been bought by AXA IM Alts from Nexity. The Bry-sur-Marne studios, which boast eight stages, hosts the filming of roughly half of all French productions, notably this year’s highest grossing local film “Asterix and Obelix: the Middle Kingdom,” and the Canal+ series “Marie-Antoinette.” The studios facility is part of the 12 acres of land acquired by AXA IM Alts, an asset manager and investment vehicle for Axa, the global insurance company. As part of the deal, the studios will now be managed by Guillaume de Menthon, the former boss of Telfrance, a prominent producer of TV content such as the daily soap “Demain tout commence.” De Menthon will strive to double the site’s production capacity.

Eva Longoria was joined by actor and founder of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival Edward James Olmos at the premiere of her new movie Flamin’ Hot at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on Wednesday (May 31) in Los Angeles.

Kyle Bowser Recent news reports suggest Paramount Global may be considering a sale of its cable channel BET. Further reports identify media moguls Tyler Perry, Byron Allen, Sean “Diddy” Combs and a partnership comprised of Shaquille O’Neil, 50 Cent, and Kenya Barris as prospective buyers of the platform, which was originally created to offer programing targeted toward Black viewers. Each of these potential suitors is more than worthy of the opportunity to helm such a significant portal of Black imagery. Still, a greater agenda raises additional considerations and a distinctive option for ownership. Founded by Robert L. Johnson in 1980, BET has been a primary hub for Black-themed content since its inception. Johnson sold the cable channel to Viacom in 2001 for $3 billion, resulting in an infusion of capital and infrastructure expansion, to include the addition of BET+ and BET Her. The broadcast schedule is populated with original scripted and unscripted programming, as well as acquired off-net fare, with daily viewership currently hovering near 1.7 million and annual ad revenues exceeding $215 million. While the mere existence of BET has demonstrated the power of the Black economy, its celebration of Black culture further highlights its prominence and influence.

slashed its dividend by 79% amid a cash crunch on May 6.The deal will see BDT Capital Partners, an affiliate of merchant bank BDT & MSD Partners, receive preferred equity in National Amusements. The cash infusion will help Paramount, formed when CBS and Viacom combined in 2019, steady itself as it navigates the shift from cable to streaming.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount Global, has received a $125 million investment from BDT Capital Partners, an investment firm that specializes in supporting family-controlled businesses and estates. The influx of cash is designed to take pressure off of Paramount Global stock price, which has been under water in recent months in part because of concern about National Amusements’ financial health. The deal will allow National Amusements to pay off some existing loans that have been secured by the company’s Paramount Global shares. “Our expanded partnership with BDT & MSD reflects our strong belief in Paramount’s ability to deliver value to all shareholders. Paramount has the best assets in the media industry, with an incredible content library and IP spanning all genres and demographics, as well as the No. 1 broadcast network, the leading free ad-supported streaming television service and the fastest-growing pay streaming platform in the U.S.,” said Shari Redstone, Chair, CEO and President of NAI. “NAI has conviction in Paramount’s strategy and execution, and we remain committed to supporting Paramount as it takes the necessary steps to build on its success and capitalize on the strategic opportunities in our industry.”

The cast of Vanderpump Rules is all together again for the first time since news of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ affair.

The cast of Vanderpump Rules is all together again for the first time since news of Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ affair.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Semafor, the digital new startup launched last fall, announced that it has raised $19 million in a new financing round, bringing its total raised to $34 million. The New York-based company was co-founded by Ben Smith, previously media columnist for the New York Times and editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. (The two are not related.) Semafor said the additional investments are an extension on the same terms of the company’s previous financing round. The new total also takes into account the repurchase of the approximately $10 million in funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whom federal prosecutors have charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. The funding from Bankman-Fried will be returned to FTX creditors as directed by officials, according to Semafor.

Hailee Steinfeld is one of the famous females to appear in Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” music, alongside the likes of Selena Gomez, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, Martha Hunt, Jessica Alba, Seraya, Karlie Kloss, Lena Dunham, Ellie Goulding, Gigi Hadid, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Lily Aldridge, Zendaya and, of course, Swift herself.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent France’s culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak gave her first interview with the international press at the Cannes Film Festival where she unveiled a plan to invest €350 million ($378 million) in the film and TV industry. Abdul-Malak also addressed some hot topics that are currently being debated within the industry, such as the windowing rules for streamers, the protests over the pension reform, the rise of the far right and criticism of France’s #MeToo movement. The government-investment initiative, called the Grande Fabrique de l’Image, is meant to bolster France’s position as a leader in film, TV and video games production, studio facilities, post-production, as well as film and TV training. The funding will go to 68 projects that were selected from 175 applicants by two committees, one of which is headed by filmmaker Cedric Jimenez (“November,” “The Stronghold”). Among the selected projects are 11 studio facilities, 12 animation studios, six video games studios, five visual effects and post production houses, and 34 training programs.

His partner in crime! Vin Diesel found his forever family with long-time girlfriend Paloma Jiménez.

Mama June is trying to dance and make up after a big fight with her husband, Justin Stroud.In ET's exclusive clip from the upcoming episode of, June Shannon is home alone on a rainy day without a clue to Justin's whereabouts. She hints a fight between the couple, saying, «This isn't how a marriage is supposed to be. I mean, you're not supposed to storm off and be all mad.» Then, she adds: «Now I'm all, like, mad 'cause he left.

Paramount Global’s Lawrence Szabo is joining BBC Studios.

John Cena is fully embracing his better half. The actor stepped out with wife Shay Shariatzadeh on Friday for the premiere at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, where he joked with ET that she was off «doing responsible things that keep me in line» while he hit the red carpet to chat with reporters. «Yes, yes, she's the brains behind this operation,» he quipped to ET's Nischelle Turner. The couple posed for photographers during the premiere, with Shariatzadeh stunning in a red mini dress with cape-style sleeves. For his part, Cena complemented the look with a maroon suit and plaid jacket. «We have a great movie for you guys and we know we have a great movie, but we just want to make sure you're in a good mood going into the great movie,» he said of the over-the-top premiere experience.