We may not know who will be the final victor, but one thing is abundantly clear at this point- Paramount will be sold this year in some form or another. While it is natural for M&A activity to cause some shake-ups in the C-suite, usually that would wait on the new owner taking over. Not so for the Paramount Group, however, which will see current CEO Bob Bakish depart in favor of a three-person strong joint leadership team (for now). Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A. fills us in on the changes.
End of an Era
As of this week, Bakish will officially step down as CEO, although he will remain with the company until the end of October to act in an advisory role. Paramount is currently deep into an exclusive negotiating window with potential buyers Skydance, RedBird Capital, and KKR. If the deal pans out as expected, Paramount would remain a public company, but with the executive leadership purely from Skydance and RedBird. While that deal is not yet official, and there is some noise of a counter-offer from Sony and Apollo Private Equity, this shakeup to their executive suite is an interesting one that may point to a coming deal closure.
Little Comment
The announcement was made with prepared remarks only, and Bakish himself has also been quiet on the sudden shakeup. There is some speculation, however, that he and Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, may be at odds around the deal. Additionally, Paramount has seen some severe Wall Street turbulence, losing investors amid claims that the Skydance deal, which seems the forerunner currently, serves the interest of the Redstone family and National Amusement’s voting shareholders much more than the regular Paramount shareholders.
Despite these details, Paramount has definitely been underperforming in its potential, and a new owner better positioned to move the group away from the declining linear sectors and make better use of its direct-to-consumer potential may well be what Paramount needs to reinvent itself for a new millennium. It will be interesting, indeed, to see what else develops as we move towards a final deal.
Film and Television 