Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down from the company amid a push to either sell the company or merge with Skydance, according to reports.
Bakish’s exit coincides with the company’s quarterly earnings call Monday afternoon after the markets close. With his departure, it is not expected for Bakish to participate in the meeting with investors.
After joining the company in 1997, Bakish was elevated to CEO of the freshly merged ViacomCBS — which changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022 — in 2019 after previously being the CEO of Viacom. His appointment as CEO of the new venture was backed by controlling shareholder and executive chair Shari Redstone.
It is reported that his exit is in part due to unhappiness from Redstone about recent decisions Bakish supported, like not accepting offers to sell both Showtime and BET. Meanwhile, Bakish is reportedly not in favor of a potential sale/merger of the company with Skydance, which stands in opposition to Redstone’s wishes.
The company has seen a rocky few months. After eliminating the jobs of more than 800 employees in a round of reductions, merger talks between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery were halted in February after the stock price for both companies reached a 52-week low. Additionally, Bakish turned down a $30 billion offer from media mogul Byron Allen for the company, which was one of many rebuked in recent months.
