Bob
Bakish,
then
president
and
chief
executive
officer
of
Viacom
Inc.,
speaks
during
the
Mobile
World
Congress
Americas
event
in
Los
Angeles,
California,
U.S.,
on
Tuesday,
Oct.
22,
2019.
Patrick
T.
Fallon
|
Bloomberg
|
Getty
Images
Paramount
Global’s
board
is
preparing
to
fire
Chief
Executive
Officer
Bob
Bakish
as
soon
as
Monday
morning,
according
to people
familiar
with
the
matter.
Paramount
Global
reports
its
quarterly
earnings
Monday.
Bakish
won’t
be
on
the
call,
the
people
said.
The
board
is
expected
to
lean
on
company
division
heads
in
lieu
of
a
CEO
while
it
negotiates
a
possible
merger
with
Skydance
Media.
Paramount
Global
has
set
up
a
special
committee
to
explore
the
deal.
The
companies
are
in
exclusive
talks
to
pursue
a
deal
until
May
3,
though
that
window
could
be
extended.
Bakish
has
lost
the
trust
of
Paramount
Global
controlling
shareholder
Shari
Redstone,
according
to
people
familiar
with
her
thinking.
Redstone
wanted
to
make
a
move
to
oust
Bakish
before
Paramount
Global’s
carriage
negotiation
with
Charter
Communications,
which
is
pivotal
for
setting
a
value
for
the
company
in
its
merger
talks
with
Skydance,
the
people
said.
A
spokesperson
for
Paramount
Global
declined
to
comment.
Paramount
and
Skydance
have
been
making
headway
on
a
final
deal,
under
which
Bakish
would
leave
Paramount,
CNBC reported Thursday.
Skydance
intends
to
name
its
CEO
David
Ellison
to
helm
Paramount,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
In
private,
Bakish
has
dissented
against
the
merger,
claiming
that
it
could
dilute
common
shareholders,
according
to
people
familiar
with
the
matter.
Under
the
deal
terms,
almost
50%
of
the
merged
company
would
be
owned
by
Skydance
and
its
private
equity
partners,
CNBC reported April
5.
Common
shareholders
would
own
the
remainder
of
the
company,
which
would
continue
to
trade
publicly.
