Paramount Global is reportedly considering firing longtime CEO Bob Bakish and replacing him with a group of executives as the entertainment giant inches closer to a deal with Skydance Media. It is reported that there are.
Bakish, who has privately criticized the company’s negotiations for a merger with Skydance, will be replaced on an interim basis by the company’s “CEO Office,” which is made up of the company’s division heads, the Wall Street Journal reported. It was reported on Friday.
However, no decisions have been made about Mr Bakish’s future, and he may remain in office, although the complex, which is controlled by media heiress Shari Redstone through her family business National Amusements. This speculation comes at a critical time for companies.
Paramount, which owns Showtime, CBS, MTV, movie studio Paramount Pictures and streaming service Paramount+, is finalizing details of its merger with Skydance and hopes to finalize it next month, people told CNBC. Ta.
But Mr. Redstone and some board members are “unhappy” with Mr. Bakish, the newspaper reported, adding that the CEO is “dissatisfied” with the company’s strategic opportunities, including the possible sale of the Showtime channel. He added that he questioned whether he had pursued it “aggressively enough.”
Spokespersons for the Paramount Global Task Force, Paramount Global, and Skydance declined to comment.
Bakish, who was seen as Redstone’s right-hand man, was appointed CEO of Viacom in 2016.
He was elevated to the top job after the daughter of the late Sumner Redstone merged the company with CBS in 2019.
Mr. Bakish’s critics pointed to Paramount’s declining television business, loss-making streaming business and debt-laden balance sheet.
The newspaper said Mr. Redstone blamed the company’s overall woes and what Mr. Bakish believed was a missed opportunity to strike a healthy deal.
People close to Redstone said the mogul was open to selling the premium channel Showtime, home to Billions, Dexter and Yellowjackets, but Bakish declined the bid. That’s what it means. It even rejected a $3 billion offer from former Showtime CEO David Nevins last year. Instead, Bakish folded Showtime and its content into Paramount+
Bakish’s supporters argue that the executive made a name for himself at the company, including streaming with the launch of Paramount+, the acquisition of ad-supported TV streaming service Pluto TV and maintaining CBS’ strong position in the industry. , disagrees.
Paramount’s market value plummeted from $25.3 billion in 2019 to $8.4 billion.
Bakish’s firing could add further turmoil to an already turbulent period for Paramount, which is considering a merger with Skydance, which is run by David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. There is sex.
Paramount’s special committee charged with responding to the offer and Skydance will focus on how to value Skydance’s assets and how much capital to add to the company as part of the recapitalization. There is. sources told CNBC on Friday.
Privately held Skydance is valued at $5 billion and plans to merge with Paramount, people familiar with the matter said. The independent studio has produced blockbusters such as “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” and “Top Gun: Maverick” for Paramount.
Mr. Ellison, along with private equity firms KKR and RedBird, plans to raise about $4.5 billion to $5 billion in new equity, people familiar with the matter said.
Approximately $2 billion of that money will be used to acquire Redstone, with a significant portion of the remainder to pay down debt, the people said.
The two companies are in exclusive negotiations until May 3, but Skydance is seeking an extension because Paramount was slow to provide data during due diligence, CNBC reported.
According to CNBC, if the companies are successful in merging, Ellison will be named CEO of Paramount Global, and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell will become president.
If that happens, there is no future for Mr. Bakish’s company.
Meanwhile, Skydance is holding a full court press conference in an effort to finalize the deal before the exclusivity period closes. Apollo Global Inc. and Sony are reportedly waiting after discussing a partnership to acquire all shares of Paramount Global.
CNBC said Paramount’s special committee “has not received specific details about the proposal and does not consider it a competitive bid in Skydance’s interest.”
The committee has details about Apollo’s original $26 billion bid, which was rejected by Paramount’s board over concerns about Apollo’s financing, the Post previously reported.
CNBC said Paramount’s committee prioritized acquiring Skydance over Apollo in part to provide future returns to shareholders by keeping the company public with a cleaner balance sheet.
However, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, that Mr. Bakish privately opposes the Skydance deal, saying it would dilute value for public shareholders.
The paper added that even as Redstone moves forward with Skydance negotiations, Bakish is quietly pursuing other deal negotiations.
One such deal included a potential streaming partnership with Comcast, NBCUniversal’s parent company, the newspaper said, without disclosing information to Redstone or its board of directors.
Bakish and Comcast We were discussing the possibility of a joint venture. Paramount+’s relationship with Comcast’s streamer Peacock was reported in February by The Journal.
Meanwhile, several shareholders also want the Skydance deal to fall apart, including Mario Gabelli, the company’s second-largest voting shareholder after Redstone through his super voting shares and Paramount common stock.
They claim it gives Redstone a huge premium for Redstone’s controlling stake, while snubbing public shareholders.
Under the terms of the Paramount-Skydance merger, nearly 50% of the company’s stock will be owned by Skydance and its private equity partners. CNBC reported April 5th.
The remainder of the company will be owned by public shareholders and the company will continue to be publicly traded.
Gabelli told the Post that he wants Paramount to withdraw from all deal negotiations.
“There is no question that it would be better not to sell,” Gabelli said two weeks ago, adding that he hoped Bakish would stick to his turnaround strategy.
