CEO Shake-Up Looms At Paramount Global Amid Skydance Merger Discussions

Bob Bakish, the current CEO of Paramount Global, may be facing termination as the company continues its merger talks with Skydance Media.

What Happened: A recent CNBC report suggests that the board of Paramount Global PARA is contemplating the dismissal of Bakish, which will possibly come as early as Monday.

In the event of Bakish's departure, the company is expected to rely on division heads while continuing merger discussions with Skydance Media.

Paramount Global has set up a special committee to explore the potential merger. The two companies are in exclusive talks until May 3, though this period may be extended.

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Shari Redstone, Paramount Global's controlling shareholder, has reportedly lost faith in Bakish. Redstone had plans to remove Bakish before the company's carriage negotiation with Charter Communications, a pivotal event for determining Paramount's value in its merger talks with Skydance.

As the merger talks progress, it is expected that Bakish will leave Paramount and Skydance's CEO David Ellison will take over.

Bakish has privately opposed the merger, arguing it could dilute common shareholders. The proposed deal would see Skydance and its private equity partners owning nearly 50% of the merged company, with ordinary shareholders owning the rest.

Why It Matters: The merger talks between Paramount Global and Skydance Media have been heating up. The companies are reportedly close to agreeing on a valuation of about $5 billion for Skydance in the merger.

Interestingly, this isn't Paramount's first involvement in merger talks.

In December 2023, Bakish met with Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. CEO David Zaslav to discuss a potential merger.

The discussions centered on how the two companies could complement each other, including leveraging Paramount's children's programming assets and combining CBS News and CNN into a global news outlet.

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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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