Paramount Global, the owner of Australia’s Network 10 and Paramount+, is set to be controlled by Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison.

It comes as a group led by his son, David, completes its purchase of the Shari Redstone family’s interest in the company.

David’s proposal includes Redstone’s National Amusements and allows control of Paramount for more than $8 billion (A$11.88 billion).

Larry will own 77.5 per cent of National Amusements through a trust and series of corporations, according to Bloomberg.

Paramount (Image: Sourced from Unsplash)

Paramount has agreed to be acquired in a deal led by David Ellison and his Skydance Media. As part of the deal, Skydance Media will merge into Paramount.

The Ellisons, and their partner, RedBird Capital Partners, will buy National Amusements for $2.4 billion (A$3.56 billion) and invest more than $6 billion (A$8.91 billion) to acquire Paramount shares and reduce the company’s debt too.

The rest of National Amusements will be owned by private equity investor Gerry Cardinale, the founder of RedBird.

He is listed as the controlling person of RB Tentpole LP, a partnership that will own 22.5 per cent of National Amusements once the deal is completed.

David will play a prominent role in the new company as Paramount’s chairman and chief executive officer, and will reportedly have operational control of the business.

The Paramount-Skydance deal was nearly scuttled recently when Seagram Co. heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. decided to place a rival bid to that of Skydance Media after Paramount had reached a deal with Skydance, but had a 45-day “go-shop” period worked into the agreement.

While Bronfman Jr. made his rival bid within that timeframe, he eventually withdrew it and clearing the way for the Skydance-Paramount deal to go through.