June 12 (Reuters) - Paramount Global's majority
shareholder Shari Redstone has abruptly ended talks for a
potential merger with David Ellison's production company
Skydance Media, effectively killing the deal that was in the
works for several months.
        Redstone, the daughter of late media tycoon Sumner
Redstone, was widely expected to sell her family's stake to
Ellison as part of a $2.25 billion deal for the family's holding
company, National Amusements. It was one element of a complex $8
billion transaction that would have resulted in the merger of
Paramount and Skydance.
        Here are some of the main events leading up to the deal
talks falling through:

 Year        Events
 December    CBS Corp and Viacom merge to form ViacomCBS,
 2019        combining media mogul Sumner Redstone's media units
             13 years after a split. ViacomCBS would be later
             renamed as Paramount Global
             
             ViacomCBS acquires a 49% stake in film studio
             Miramax from BeIN Media Group for $375 million
 September   ViacomCBS rebrands a CBS streaming service as
 2020        Paramount+ and launches it in international markets
             
                         Sells CNET Media Group to Red Ventures
             for $500 million
 November    ViacomCBS agrees to sell CBS Studio Center for
 2021        $1.85 billion to private firms
 February    ViacomCBS changes its name to Paramount Global
 2022        
 December    Chief executives of Warner Bros Discovery and
 2023        Paramount reportedly in talks over a potential deal
             between the two companies
 January     Skydance CEO David Ellison reportedly explores an
 2024        all-cash bid to acquire Paramount parent National
             Amusements
 January     Media entrepreneur Byron Allen submits a $30
 2024        billion offer for Paramount, including debt and
             equity 
 March 2024  India's Reliance Industries agrees to buy
             Paramount's entire 13.01% stake in local
             entertainment network Viacom18 Media for about $517
             million 
 March 2024  Apollo Global Management reportedly offers to buy
             Paramount Pictures film studio for $11 billion
 April 2024  Paramount's board reportedly agrees to enter into
             exclusive merger talks with Skydance
 April 2024  Paramount replaces CEO Bob Bakish with an office of
             CEO comprising CBS President and CEO George Cheeks,
             Paramount Pictures studio chief Brian Robbins, and
             Chris McCarthy, head of Showtime, MTV and other
             networks
 June 2024   Edgar Bronfman Jr, former chairman of Warner Music,
             reportedly expresses interest in buying Paramount's
             controlling shareholder National Amusements
 June 2024   Shari Redstone abruptly ends talks with Skydance
 
 (Reporting by Priyanka.G and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shailesh Kuber)