ViacomCBS is looking to raise US$3 billion (more than $3.9 billion) from stock offerings, with the funds to help fund operations and investments in its streaming service, Paramount+.
The publicly-listed company said in a corporate statement in late March that it would sell US$2 billion in class B common shares and US$1 billion in Series A mandatory convertible preferred shares.
ViacomCBS said it intends to use the combined net proceeds from the offerings for general corporate purposes, including investments in streaming.
In March, Paramount+ launched as the overhauled version of the company’s previous streaming service, CBS All Access, arriving in a crowded field of streaming services.
Despite this, the company is targeting 65 million to 75 million streaming subscribers by 2024 and expects to invest around US$5 billion in its streaming content by 2024, up from a reported US$1 billion in 2020, Deadline reported.
Paramount+, which launched in the US, includes hubs for content from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Smithsonian Channel.
The service is also expected to introduce a new US$5 per month ad-supported streaming tier, and will be the home of some of the year’s biggest film releases: A Quiet Place Part II and Mission: Impossible 7, both of which will release on Paramount+ 45 days after their theatre releases.
In Australia, ViacomCBS-owned Network 10 announced in September that its subscription video and on-demand service would rebrand to Paramount+, with news that it would be the exclusive home of SHOWTIME premieres.
