Paramount Global appears to have had something of a tumultuous weekend, with reports CEO Bob Bakish is on the verge of leaving the company.
As TVBEurope reported earlier this month, Skydance Media is currently in talks to acquire Shari Redstone’s stake in the company. Redstone’s National Amusements owns 77 per cent of Paramount’s voting stock.
According to Variety, those talks reached a pivotal stage on Sunday with Skydance submitting its “best and final” offer.
Sony and investment management company Apollo are said to be waiting in the wings if the Skydance talks fall through.
Paramount is due to report its quarterly earnings today, after the close of the market, with suggestions that Bakish could leave before the announcement.
Variety’s report says the company is expected to announce a leadership committee to replace Bakish and run the company on an interim basis, made up of Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins, CBS chief executive George Cheeks and MTV Entertainment Group president Chris McCarthy.
Bakish has been with Paramount and its Viacom predecessor since 1997.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports Paramount is considering what might happen if a sale fails to happen. It states senior management is looking at cutting $2 billion in costs while investing more in content, through selling cable network BET and Paramount-owned TV stations not affiliated with the CBS network, as well as establishing a streaming joint-venture
Paramount Global is the parent broadcaster of the UK’s Channel 5.
