STORY: Paramount and Skydance are to merge, starting a new chapter for one of Hollywood's most storied names.
The two companies announced the move late on Sunday.
Tycoon Shari Redstone will sell her controlling stake, as part of a complex deal that will eventually result in a merger.
Her family will pocket some $1.75 billion, ending an era.
Late patriarch Sumner Redstone built the media empire, which includes CBS and MTV as well as the namesake Paramount movie studio.
The deal makes Skydance founder David Ellison a new Hollywood power player.
But it also lands him with a host of challenges.
Paramount has shed nearly $17 billion in value since 2019.
That as its traditional TV business faded faster than streaming service Paramount+ could turn a profit.
However, the deal caps months of tortuous negotiations, complicated by the firm's complex shareholder structure.
Redstone only owned a minority of Paramount shares - but a big majority of the shares with voting rights.
Sources say Ellison had to sweeten an earlier offer to win her support.
