Four members of Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global board are expected to step down from the entertainment giant amid merger talks with Skydance Media. The Wall Street Journal reported This was disclosed on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month that Paramount’s board of directors is headed by CEO David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Skydance Media. The two companies have reportedly agreed to enter into exclusive merger negotiations.
A merger could potentially force Mr. Ellison to combine Paramount with the independent media house behind films such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning.”
Paramount says former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff, former Sony Entertainment president Nicole Seligman, Redstone lawyer Rob Krieger and veteran investment banking executive Frederick Terrell are expected to resign in the coming weeks. The newspaper reported that he declined to comment on the report.
Mr. Seligman, Mr. Ostrov and Mr. Terrell, who are also directors of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, were tasked with pursuing the best deal for Paramount, whether it was with Skydance or with another suitor. He is a member of a special committee of independent directors, the report added.
Krieger did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, and two other board members could not immediately be reached.
The potential resignations will reduce Paramount’s board of directors to eight members.
The report said Paramount’s withdrawal could be disclosed in an SEC filing as early as this week.
Shares fell 5% on Wednesday.
