Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) has been tapped to star opposite Michael Fassbender in The Agency (fka The Department), George Clooney’s remake of French political drama series The Bureau.
12.06.2024 - 02:45 / deadline.com
This just in tonight from Skydance Boss David Ellison as Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone says “No” to Skydance’s offer to buy National Amusements. The Top Gun: Maverick and Geostorm producer has acknowledged to staff that Skydance’s bid to merge with Paramount has ended.
However, “we are stronger because of this process,” says the son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.
David promises staff that Skydance, armed with more TV products in the company’s history, is “more confident than ever—not just about Skydance but about the future of entertainment and our ability to continue building a next-generation content company on our terms, with the greatest capital, creative and technological resources and talent in the industry.”
As Jill and I told you today, there are various reasons why this Skydance-Paramount Global merger didn’t shake out, read seeking consent for the deal from a “majority of the minority” of shareholders not named Redstone. Redstone wanted to, Ellison didn’t want to, we understand. Paramount Global didn’t have faith in Skydance’s financials, the deal calling for the Ellison studio to pay Redstone $2.25 billion outright for NAI and then merge with Paramount in a deal that valued Skydance at $4.75 billion. Also, neither side could see eye to eye on how Skydance would operate the company through the regulatory process.
In the near future, Redstone will mull offers from Edgar Bronfman Jr. with Bain and producer Steven Paul. Sony is a longshot. She will entrust the studio and network ops to the office of the co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, and Chris McCarthy, who’ll vie to shave debt, unload non-core assets, capitalize on content, and find a joint venture partner for streaming
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) has been tapped to star opposite Michael Fassbender in The Agency (fka The Department), George Clooney’s remake of French political drama series The Bureau.
Paramount Global is pushing ahead with asset sales and bankers are in the house as it sets out to streamline and raise cash to pay down debt. Its three co-CEOs confirmed as much Tuesday at a company town hall with staff.
After rejecting Skydance’s offer to merge two weeks ago, Paramount Global new co-CEO troika of Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy told a packed company town hall of 500 at the studio’s Melrose Lot Paramount Theater what progress has been made since the annual shareholders meeting three weeks ago, and what the company’s path will be going forward. In sum, bankers have been hired to explore the sale of “certain Paramount owned assets” per Cheeks, while layoffs are on the horizon as the conglom looks to achieve a half billion in cost savings.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global‘s trio of co-CEOs provided an update Tuesday at a town hall for the company’s more than 20,000 employees on where things stand with their plan to cut costs, boost revenue and pare down debt after a potential merger with Skydance was called off. The three execs — George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon — were installed as co-CEOs after Bob Bakish’s dismissal in late April.
In the latest executive shuffle at Paramount Global, home entertainment chief Bob Buchi is exiting and will be replaced by Amazon MGM digital distribution exec Andres Alvarez.
Paramount Global‘s unorthodox Office of the CEO, which started as a presumed placeholder, is turning into a longer-term fixture poised to once again reshape the tempest-tossed company.
Paramount Global and its predecessor companies have gone through several tumultuous decades. Here’s a timeline of key events that led up to the company’s most recent M&A drama, in this week’s cover story: What Went Wrong: Inside Paramount’s Failed Merger Talks and the Battle to Salvage the Company. MARCH 4, 1987: Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements Inc.
Shari Redstone, it was nothing personal. But the longer the negotiations went on, the more Redstone fell out of love with the idea of marrying her family’s legacy to David Ellison’s Skydance Media. So on June 11, as board members of Paramount Global were about to hold a key meeting on the long-gestating deal to merge with Skydance, Redstone was out — even as those around her were still scrambling to get it done.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Christa D’Alimonte, Paramount Global‘s EVP, general counsel and secretary, is exiting at the end of the month after 12 years at the company and its predecessor Viacom. D’Alimonte on Tuesday informed her team that she will be leaving the company on June 28 (read the memo below).
Paramount Global General Counsel Christa D’Alimonte has told colleagues she will be exiting the company at the end of the month.
Paramount co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy thanked staff in a memo today, obtained by Deadline, for a few tough months rocked by Skydance merger speculation. With that deal a no go, they said, they have plan, one mostly laid out at last week’s annual shareholders meeting, to take the company into the future.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor David Ellison, chief executive of Skydance Media, thanked employees of his company for their focus as he was engaged in a months-long bid to merge with Paramount Global. And even though that effort failed, he said that Skydance is stronger after having gone through the M&A cycle.
When David Ellison’s Skydance made a play for Paramount last fall it was how and when (not if) Shari Redstone would tie the knot. Paramount and Skydance worked together. He valued the studio and its crown jewel of a backlot and planned to keep the company together. He was offering her a nice bundle of cash for her stake in National Amusements.
After months of negotiations, Paramount‘s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has broken off merger talks with David Ellison‘s Skydance.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After more than six months of on-again-off-again talks, Shari Redstone has ended negotiations with David Ellison‘s Skydance Media about a prospective merger with Paramount Global. Redstone is Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder through National Amusements Inc., which owns 77% of the voting shares in Paramount.
Paramount Global, which continues to explore its M&A options, has updated the compensation plans for the three execs in the Office of the CEO and re-upped Chief People Officer Nancy Phillips.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor As an M&A event looms on the horizon for Paramount Global, the three execs in the conglomerate’s “Office of the CEO” are now eligible for stepped-up severance payments in the event of a sale or merger — and the company also will award them cash bonuses for the time they serve as co-CEOs. The move comes as Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, is evaluating a merger offer from David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which the Paramount Global board’s special committee has recommended.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shari Redstone may have yet another offer on the table to buy National Amusements Inc., the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global — the latest twist in the months-long M&A drama swirling around the troubled media conglomerate. Erstwhile media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr. is teaming with investment firm Bain Capital to put together an offer of up to $2.5 billion for Redstone’s National Amusements, sources confirmed.
Shares of Paramount Global edged lower Thursday, day three in the red, amid lingering uncertainty around Skydance’s latest offer. With bigger than anticipated sweeteners for Class B shareholders, it was approved by Par’s special board committee and sent on to controlling shareholder Shari Redstone but with no announcement forthcoming.
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global has a strong future ahead of it and so does broadcast television, despite the uncertainty that has enveloped Hollywood in general and Paramount in particular. That was the message sent Thursday by CBS chief George Cheeks, who last month was also tapped as one of three CEOs to steer Paramount Global through a period that is sure to be challenging no matter what happens with the company.