scorecardresearch
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeTechParamount CEO Bob Bakish resigns amid merger talks

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish resigns amid merger talks

Follow Us :
Text Size:

By Lisa Richwine
(Reuters) -Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down and will be replaced by three executives, the company said on Monday as it reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

CBS President and CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Pictures studio chief Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy, head of Showtime/MTV Entertainment and the Paramount Media Networks, will lead the company in a new Office of the CEO.

Shares of the media conglomerate, which is in exclusive merger talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, rose nearly 1% in after-hours trading to $12.36.

The new CEO office is working with Paramount’s board “to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet, and continue to optimize the streaming strategy,” the company said in a statement.

Bakish had led the company since the 2019 merger with CBS to form ViacomCBS, later branded as Paramount Global. He took the helm of Viacom in 2016.

For the quarter that ended in March, Paramount reported adjusted earnings per share of 62 cents, well ahead of the 36 cents consensus of analysts.

Revenue came in shy of expectations at $7.69 billion. Wall Street had forecast $7.73 billion, according to LSEG data.

Paramount has been in discussions with Skydance about a possible deal for months. The combination has upset some shareholders who say it would benefit controlling shareholder Shari Redstone at their expense. They have urged Paramount to consider other suitors including Apollo Global Management.

The Redstone family and Skydance, which has backed Paramount films such as “Top Gun: Maverick,” recently offered concessions to try to make the Skydance bid more attractive, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, and Harshita Mary Varghese and Akash Sriram in BengaluruEditing by Shilpi Majumdar and Matthew Lewis)

Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

  • Tags

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular