(Reuters) -Apex Capital Trust has submitted a competing offer to acquire Paramount Global in an all-cash deal for up to $43 billion, the investment firm said on Wednesday.
Paramount has a 45-day "go-shop" period following the merger agreement with David Ellison's Skydance Media, during which it can receive another deal.
Paramount and National Amusements did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Apex, a holding company and investor in the finance sector, said it has offered to buy all stock in National Amusements, a company that holds a controlling interest in Paramount. It has offered $35 a share for Class A voting shares, which it notes represents a 33% premium over the stock's 52-week high.
The rival bidder also is offering $23.28 per share for non-voting Class B shares of Paramount, or a 33% premium.
Apex said it would assume Paramount's debt of $15.8 billion and would pay the $400 million break-up free to Skydance. It said it would infuse the media company with $10 billion in working capital to carry out its business plan.
"Paramount and its assets are a national treasure, and we intend to treat them accordingly," Apex Trust General Counsel Tatiana Logan said in a statement.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bangalore and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Chizu Nomiyama)