The Bob Bakish era at Paramount appears to be nearing its end.
The Paramount CEO is expected to part ways with the entertainment giant in the next couple of days. Paramount reports its quarterly earnings on Monday afternoon, meaning that if he does leave, it will likely be before then.A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.The CEO’s imminent exit comes as Paramount and controlling shareholder National Amusements are in exclusive sale negotiations with a group led by David Ellison’s Skydance, as well as Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, and KKR.But it also comes as another potential bidder, the private equity firm Apollo, has held early talks with Sony about partnering on an offer. Such an offer could not be presented to the board until the exclusive window with Skydance closes.The Journal first reported on the potential exit of Bakish, adding that the plan being considered would see a handful of top executives take Bakish’s place on an interim basis.Bakish’s exit would be the latest twist in Paramount’s fate, with Bakish helping to create the current iteration of the company by helping controlling shareholder Shari Redstone merge CBS and Viacom merger in 2019. The company would change its name to Paramount in 2022.Paramount includes the famed Paramount film studio and lot, as well as CBS, the Paramount+ streaming service, and the former Viacom cable channels, like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
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