Shari Redstone (official pic ViacomCBS)
Paramount Global, a firm owned by Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, is making big layoffs. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish made the revelation in a memo sent to staffers. This news comes as rumors swirl that David Ellison’s Skydance Media is looking to acquire Paramount.
Paramount Global is the company that runs Paramount Studios and its media empire. This includes Paramount Studios, the CBS television network, and many cable channels like MTV. Paramount has been struggling lately and there was talk of a possible merger with another firm.
In December there were reports that Shari Redstone was looking at a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros, which operates the Warner Bros movie studios and cable television networks like CNN and HBO.
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“Our priority is to drive earnings growth. And we’ll get there by growing our revenue while closely managing costs — a balance that will require every team, division and brand to be aligned,” Bakish said in the memo to employees.
“Where possible, we’ll look to expand our shared services model as we streamline operations. As it has over the past few years, this does mean we will continue to reduce our workforce globally.”
“Amid all this change, it’s no surprise that Paramount remains a topic of speculation. We’re a storied public company in a closely followed industry. But I have always believed the best thing we can do is concentrate on what we can control — execution.”
Meanwhile, CNBC reported that Skydance Media has been working with private equity firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR & Co. on a deal to buy National Amusements, the holding company owned by Shari Redstone. Skydance is operated by David Ellison, the son of entrepreneur Larry Ellison who founded Oracle computers.
Paramount currently has a market cap above $9 billion and Shari Redstone reportedly said that she thinks it is undervalued. Merger talk always leads to increases in stock prices as investors anticipate a profit to be made if a buyout takes place.
