Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is out as the company unveiled a triumvirate leadership team shortly before its Q1 earnings report on Monday, amid ongoing uncertainty over who will eventually own the company.
Paramount Global has established an Office of the CEO comprising George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS, Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.
It is understood Bakish, who has worked with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone for more than 25 years since he joined Viacom in 1997, did not favour the bid for the company by David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which remains locked in exclusive talks with Redstone.
Reports also highlighted that Redstone and the board questioned some of Bakish’s strategic decisions such as not selling Showtime and BET.
According to a US Securities And Exchange Commission filing the executive earned $31.3m in compensation last year, down from $32m in 2022.
Redstone said in a statement, ”The board and I thank Bob for his many contributions over his long career, including in the formation of the combined company as well as his successful efforts to rebuild the great culture Paramount has long been known for. We wish him all the best.”
Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins will work closely with CFO Naveen Chopra and the board to develop “a long-range plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet, and continue to optimize the streaming strategy”.
That plan is likely to be influenced by whoever ends up owning Paramount Global.
Skydance’s bid is backed by RedBird Capital. It is understood Ellison has offered a sweetener in the form of a $3bn cash infusion to give shareholders a larger stake than originally planned after they argued a deal would benefit Redstone but not necessarily other shareholders. The money would be used to pay off debt and buy back stock, according to The New York Times.
Private equity firm Apollo has also made an all-cash $27bn bid with Sony Pictures.
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