Gerry Cardinale Behind Ellison’s Takeover of Paramount

Skydance Media finally closed its year-long bid to take control of Paramount this week.

Flying under the radar of the Paramount-Skydance deal is private equity investor Gerry Cardinale, whose firm, RedBird Capital Partners, contributed $1.8 billion toward the $8 billion purchase price. (Photo: AC Milan / Paramount Studio Tour)

The story of how the $8 billion deal came to be is full of twists and turns—including Paramount’s apparent capitulation to President Donald Trump to get it across the finish line, Chris Dobstaff reported for Forbes Weekly.

At the top of Paramount’s new organizational chart will be Larry Ellison—the second-richest person in the world—and his son David Ellison, who will become two of the most powerful people in Hollywood.

But flying under the radar is Gerry Cardinale, a private equity investor who is poised to be an influential figure. His firm, RedBird Capital Partners, contributed $1.8 billion toward the $8 billion purchase price.

Cardinale will join Paramount as a director, and under the new ownership structure, RedBird will hold 22.5% of Paramount’s voting rights, while new CEO David Ellison will hold 50% and Larry Ellison will hold the remaining 27.5%.

This complicated familial-financial dynamic is likely to make Cardinale a pivotal voice in scenarios where the Ellisons disagree.

In his latest story, Forbes’ John Hyatt explores the background of the 57-year-old billionaire investor, who has been striking high-stakes deals for over a quarter of a century.