Paramount Global, one of Hollywood’s oldest studios, has agreed to merge with production company Skydance Media.
Under the terms of the deal, Paramount non-executive chairman Shari Redstone will sell her family’s majority stake in the company in a complex transaction that will result in a merger.
It marks the end of an era for the Redstone family, whose late patriarch, Sumner Redstone, built a chain of drive-in theaters into a vast media empire.
In addition to Paramount, the group includes television networks CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.
According to the company, its television channels have a global reach of more than 4.3 billion subscribers in over 180 countries.
The merger would reunite Paramount, home to classic films like Chinatown and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with its financial partner on several recent major releases, including Top Gun: Maverick and Star Trek Into Darkness.
Paramount Global’s origins date back more than a century, with the founding of Paramount Pictures Corporation in 1914.
The studio has produced many successful films, including The Godfather, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series.
But the entertainment giant has struggled over the past decade. Shares of Paramount Global have fallen more than 75% over the past five years.
Skydance is owned by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, founder of American technology giant Oracle.
In April, Paramount Chief Executive Bob Bakish left the company after clashing with Ms. Redstone over the Skydance deal.
The deal comes as the global entertainment industry is being transformed by the video streaming revolution.
