Paramount chair Shari Redstone has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer

Paramount Global chairwoman and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone is battling crab arsenic she tries to steer the media institution done a turbulent income process.

“Shari Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid crab earlier this spring,” her spokeswoman Molly Morse said precocious Thursday. “While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining each nonrecreational and philanthropic activities passim her treatment, which is ongoing.

“She and her household are grateful that her prognosis is excellent,” Morse said.

The quality comes astir 11 months aft Redstone agreed to merchantability Paramount to David Ellison’s Skydance Media successful a woody that would extremity the family’s tenure arsenic large Hollywood moguls aft 4 decades.

However, the government’s reappraisal of the merchantability to Skydance deed a snag amid President Trump’s $20-billion suit against Paramount and its subsidiary CBS implicit edits to an October “60 Minutes” broadcast.

Redstone, 71, told the New York Times that she underwent country past period aft receiving the diagnosis astir 2 months ago. Surgeons removed her thyroid gland but did not afloat eradicate the cancer, which had dispersed to her vocal cords, the insubstantial said.

She continues to beryllium treated with radiation, the insubstantial reported.

The Redstone household controls 77% of the voting shares of Paramount. Since Bob Bakish was ousted arsenic main enforcement past year, the institution has been managed by a trio of executives who stock the rubric of co-chief executive.

Her father, the precocious Sumner Redstone, built the institution into a juggernaut but it has seen its lasting gaffe successful caller years. There person been absorption missteps and pressures brought connected by consumers’ displacement to streaming. The inclination has crimped gross to companies that ain cablegram channels, including Paramount.

The COVID-19 pandemic followed by the 2023 writers and actors strikes besides took a toll connected Paramount and the Redstone family’s backstage firm, National Amusements Inc., which owns movie theaters.

Paramount chopped its dividend to shareholders 2 years ago, leaving the household successful a fiscal bind.

Financial pressures contributed to Redstone’s determination to entertain offers for Paramount and National Amusements, which holds the Paramount shares.

Nearly 2 years ago, Ellison and Redstone began talks that culminated past July with an statement connected a multi-phased, $8-billion woody that would walk the torch to Ellison.

Redstone wants to adjacent the deal. National Amusements would person $2.4 billion, which would wage its debts and permission the household with much than $1.7 billion.

She has urged the institution to settee the suit Trump filed successful October, weeks aft “60 Minutes” interviewed then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused CBS of deceptively editing the interrogation to marque Harris look smarter and amended her predetermination chances, a complaint that CBS has denied.

The quality implicit the edits has sparked unrest wrong the company, prompted high-level departures and triggered a Federal Communications Commission introspection of alleged quality distortion.

The FCC’s reappraisal of the Skydance woody has go bogged down. If the bureau does not o.k. the transportation of CBS tv presumption licenses to the Ellison family, the woody could collapse.

The 2 companies indispensable implicit the merger by aboriginal October. If not, Paramount volition beryllium a $400-million breakup interest to Skydance.

Redstone, done National Amusements, besides owes astir $400 cardinal to a Chicago banker who loaned the household wealth successful 2023 and tech titan Larry Ellison, who is helping bankroll the buyout of Paramount and National Amusements.

Last week, Paramount nominated 3 caller directors to service connected the company’s committee pursuing its July 2 capitalist meeting.

In a proxy filing, Paramount asked shareholders to grow the committee to 7 directors, including Redstone and 3 recruits: lawyer Mary Boies, a subordinate of the steadfast led by her husband, David Boies; Silicon Valley task superior enforcement Charles E. Ryan; and erstwhile Massachusetts proceedings tribunal justice Roanne Sragow Licht.

They would articulation longtime committee members Linda M. Griego, Susan Schuman and Barbara M. Byrne.