July 31 (Reuters) - Parties involved in evaluating

offers for Paramount Global ( PARAA ) have raised questions about

the legitimacy of Apex Capital Trust's bid for the company, one

source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Apex issued a press release Wednesday, claiming it had submitted

a $43 billion all-cash offer to purchase Paramount, challenging

a deal reached with David Ellison's Skydance Media.

Steven Weiss of Rubenstein Public Relations, whose name and

contact appeared on Apex Capital Trust's press release

announcing the offer, told Reuters Wednesday morning via email,

"Yes, this is real."

Weiss did not respond to requests for financial documentation to

support his claim.

Reuters was unable to independently establish the existence

of Apex or its unnamed subsidiaries.

Business Wire, a service that distributes press releases to the

news media, took down the press release without giving a reason

at around 3pm ET on Wednesday. Business Wire did not respond to

a request for comment. After learning that parties advising

Paramount had raised questions about the bid, Reuters withdrew

the story it initially published on Wednesday.

The person familiar with negotiations told Reuters that

Apex Capital Trust had expressed interest in making a bid for

Paramount several months ago, though the parties involved in

evaluating such offers for Paramount could not establish the

legitimacy of the parties involved or verify they had the

financial resources to complete the transaction.

Tatiana Logan, who identified herself as Apex Capital Trust's

general counsel, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday

that the holding company submitted a proposal to National

Amusements, the company that holds the Redstone family's

controlling interest in Paramount, prior to the announced merger

with Skydance.

That merger agreement contained a 45-day provision allowing

Paramount to evaluate other offers for the company.

"The investment banking firm reached out to us, knowing that

we have previously submitted a bid, and asked us if we are were

planning on submitting another bid," said Logan, referring to

Paramount's advisors. "And we told them we would, and we did the

very next day."

Paramount's special committee earlier this year retained

independent financial advisor Centerview Partners and the law

firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore to weigh the company's options.

A spokesperson for Centerview could not immediately be

reached for comment.

Logan alleged Apex Capital Trust holds multiple subsidiaries,

including operating gold mines whose reserves were valued at

$256 billion and credit card processing centers that she said

had billions of dollars a month in transactions.

"Nobody knows about these companies because they are not

consumer facing, but that does not make them less real," Logan

said. She declined Reuters' request for documentation to support

her claims about valuation of these subsidiaries and did not

provide the location of the businesses.

"If we proceed far enough on that stage of the transaction ...

we would be making filings," said Logan, adding, "If the

advisors are not speaking to us, we believe it is premature.

We're not running for the election. We're not running for

office."

She said Apex would be "happy to provide this" information

in response to a diligence request from Paramount. Logan said

she chose to go public with Apex Capital Trust's offer because

it did not receive such requests from the media company.

"National Amusements knows about our offer," said Logan.

"The rest of their shareholders do not know about it. Yet we

want all shareholders to know about it."

Spokespeople for Paramount's special committee and National

Amusements could not immediately be reached for comment.

The bank associated with the offer, Apex Capital Bank, describes

itself as a "sovereign bank," an institution that it says on its

website "are often seen as more stable and secure than private

banks because they are backed by the government." It lists no

corporate address or officers. A spokesman for the FDIC said the

institution isn't an insured depository, which means its

deposits are not insured.

Logan said the website was created for the bank recently as part

of Apex Capital Trust's desire to make its offer public. This

claim could not be independently verified by Reuters.

"This was to basically facilitate the press release and help

us connect the dots," Logan said.

Paramount and National Amusements, the company that holds

the Redstone family's controlling interest in Paramount,

declined comment Wednesday.

Apex claimed, in its release, that it would pay $35 a share

for Class A voting shares, which it notes represents a 33%

premium over the stock's 52-week high, and $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 fee to Skydance. It said it

would infuse the media company with $10 billion in working

capital to carry out its business plan.

Logan declined to identify the individual or individuals behind

the Apex Capital Trust Transaction or if it had partners,

saying, "our owners want to be able to go to Whole Foods, pick

up children and pick up their grandkids" without being

recognized.

However, she said the parties would be willing to place $50

billion in escrow to demonstrate the trust's ability to complete

the acquisition.