Bob Bakish has stepped down as the CEO of Paramount amid his company’s major merger with Skydance and its struggling streaming platform.
Bakish will be replaced simply by an office of the CEO” that will be headed by three executives: Brian Robbins, head of the Paramount movie studio; George Cheeks, chief executive of Paramount’s CBS division; and Chris McCarthy, president of Paramount’s entertainment and youth brands. As noted by the New York Times, Bakish will be stepping down as the company faces an uncertain future due to a potential merger with Skydance, headed by David Ellison, which some shareholders have openly opposed.
Several shareholders have come out publicly against a combination with Skydance, saying it would enrich Ms. Redstone at the expense of other investors. The private equity firm Apollo and Sony have discussed making an all-cash bid for Paramount, an offer that could give the company a serious alternative. But any talks with other suitors must wait until the exclusive negotiation period with Skydance lapses, in early May.
In an effort to assuage those concerns, Skydance in recent days sweetened its proposal to acquire Paramount. The company told Paramount it would provide a $3 billion cash infusion to pay down debt and buy back shares, money that would come from the private-equity firm Redbird Capital and the Ellison family. Skydance also offered to give Paramount shareholders a larger stake in the combined company than it previously contemplated.
As Breitbart News reported in March, Paramount had its debt rating downgraded to “junk” due to a plunge in cable subscriptions and poor growth for streaming service subscribers.
“Hollywood studio Paramount Global has been downgraded to junk status by S&P, which cited the ongoing plunge in cable TV subscriptions as the reason for the credit rating change,” said the report.
“Paramount — which owns numerous linear TV properties including CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and Comedy Central — is facing a dire economic forecast that is shared by other legacy studios,” it added.
Jim Woolery, founder of the advisory firm Woolery & Company, said Baskish’s departure will likely put pressure on the company to negotiate the best merger deal for shareholders.
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