Mario Gabelli moves into the record market

Mario Gabelli

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Paramount Global may soon be forced to hand over records related to a bid by Skydance to take control of the company.

In an expected revolt over the treatment of minority investors, billionaire money manager Mario Gabelli on Friday filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking access to Paramount’s books. The legal move could be a prelude to a lawsuit challenging a potential deal that some investors believe would enrich controlling shareholder Shari Redstone at their expense.

As part of the merger, Class A shareholders will receive $23 per share, while Class B shareholders will receive $15 per share.

Gabelli is seeking information regarding whether Redstone, which owns both voting and non-voting shares, will get more money for its Class B shares than others, Tell demon“I had to represent all the investors here,” Gabelli said. He said he had no problem with Redstone selling its Class A shares at a higher price.

Several law firms, including Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, have announced investigations into whether the boards of directors of Paramount Global and National Amusements breached their fiduciary duties to minority investors.

The lawsuit by Gabelli, the largest non-voting shareholder, follows a similar suit filed in April by a Paramount investor seeking to force the company to turn over records related to its talks with David Ellison’s Skydance. The Rhode Island Employees’ Retirement System alleged that Redstone had “conflicting interests” that undermined the company’s motives in seeking a better deal than Skydance offered.