Paramount Global for sale latest - Variety; Shari Redstone’s Farewell Message to Paramount Employees: ‘I Will Be Cheering for You, Always’

Story from Variety:

On the eve of Shari Redstone closing a $8 billion deal that will end her family’s decades-long stewardship of Paramount Global and predecessor companies, she sent a memo to staffers expressing her gratitude for their work — and shared optimism of the new company’s prospects as it gets taken over by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

The subject line of her memo read: “Thank you for your talent, hard work, and dedication. I will be cheering for you, always.”

“My family and I have always loved this Company. While it is not easy to step away, I am very proud of the Company that we have created, the culture upon which it is built, and the collaboration that is at the core of who we are and what we do,” Redstone wrote in the note.

“Under the leadership of [co-CEOs] George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins, who took on both the exciting and difficult decisions that come with being chief executives, every person at this Company has contributed to delivering impressive performance in spite of the tough industry environment,” she wrote in the memo.

Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. is set to receive $1.75 billion in cash upon closing of the Skydance deal; she owns 20% of NAI and the remainder is held in a family trust of which Sumner Redstone’s grandchildren are the beneficiaries. Redstone will exit the merged company’s board.

Ellison is to become chairman and CEO of the merged Paramount Skydance Corp., with the deal set to close Thursday, Aug. 7. Skydance has already announced key executive appointments at the company, including confirming roles for 10 new execs on Wednesday.

Of the three Paramount Global co-CEOs, only Cheeks, currently CBS’s CEO, will remain with the new company as chair of TV media. McCarthy, of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, is departing, as is Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.