Bob Bakish, chief executive of Paramount stepped down on Monday, effective immediately. Bakish, who was a staunch ally of Shari Redstone, controlling shareholder of Paramount, was pushed out over—among other things—his perceived tepid support for a proposed merger with Skydance, which Redstone has approved, but is awaiting board approval.
Despite recently sweetening its offer with a $3 billion cash infusion to pay down debt, not all shareholders are on board with Skydance. In addition, Sony and Apollo Global Management have recently emerged as alternative suitors.
The announcement, which was not unexpected, was made on Monday, with the company being run by three executives Brian Robbins, head of the Paramount movie studio; George Cheeks, chief executive of Paramount’s CBS division; and Chris McCarthy, chief executive of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios.
In addition to its film division, Paramount's media properties including BET, CBS (including CBS Television Studios and CBS Television Distribution), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Showtime. The company, which has struggled to adapt to declining pay-TV revenues and increased competition from the streaming market, has been a takeover target for years. Redstone has reportedly been disappointed in Bakish’s stewardship of the company, particularly after it passed on a $5.5 billion deal from Blackstone to acquire its Showtime cable network in 2021.
Bakish—who had been with Paramount since 1997 and took over as CEO when it was Viacom in 2016—is expected to leave the company with a severance package of $50.6 million, according to the New York Times.
