Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Viacom, attends day four of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 11, 2023 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
David A. Grogan | DailyExpertNews
Big global CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down, the company announced Monday, as merger negotiations with Skydance Media continue.
Bakish will also leave the company's board and be replaced by a so-called 'Office of the CEO'. Paramount will now be led by CBS president and CEO George Cheeks; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, the head of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. The company said the three executives will work closely with Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra and the board of directors.
In Monday's release, Paramount said its new leadership is “working with the board to develop a comprehensive, long-term plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet and continue its streaming strategy optimize. .”
Paramount also reported first-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday.
The ouster comes as Paramount and Skydance Media move closer to a potential merger, DailyExpertNews previously reported. The companies are in exclusive talks to continue the deal until May 3, and a special committee has already been set up.
Bakish has personally opposed the merger, claiming it will dilute common shareholders, DailyExpertNews reported. As part of the proposed deal, nearly 50% of the merged company would be owned by Skydance and its private equity backers, while common shareholders would own the remainder of Paramount, which would remain publicly traded.
On Saturday, DailyExpertNews reported that Bakish could leave as CEO on Monday, and ahead of the earnings call, after losing the confidence of Paramount Global's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who could see his resignation as a means to a Skydance deal, DailyExpertNews reported. Monday.
The departure also comes as Paramount has been in negotiations with cable company Charter Communications to carry its TV networks, including CBS and MTV. The deadline for those negotiations is Tuesday.
The special committee – responsible for accepting or rejecting transactions – and Skydance, which is backed by private equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners have delved into how to value Skydance's assets as part of a merger, and how much equity to add to the company, DailyExpertNews previously reported.
Skydance plans to appoint its CEO David Ellison as head of Paramount if the deal goes through, DailyExpertNews previously reported.
— DailyExpertNews's Alex Sherman contributed to this report.