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4 board members at Paramount Global will step apart as talks proceed with the David Ellison-led Skydance Media, the corporate confirmed Thursday in its proxy submitting.
Daybreak Ostroff, Nicole Seligman, Frederick Terrell and Rob Klieger will all depart the corporate’s board within the subsequent few months, with Paramount telling shareholders in its annual proxy submitting that they’d not be standing for reelection. Paramount’s annual assembly has been scheduled for June 4, it’s not instantly clear when the administrators will depart the corporate.
Ostroff only joined the board a 12 months in the past. Within the submitting, the corporate mentioned that the seven board nominees can be Robert M. Bakish, Barbara M. Byrne, Linda M. Griego, Judith A. McHale, Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Shari E. Redstone and Susan Schuman.
Paramount — managed by non-executive chair Shari Redstone by way of her household’s Nationwide Amusements Inc. holding firm — is in unique talks with Skydance a few sale that may see the Ellison firm purchase NAI, and subsequently merge with Paramount.
Paramount reportedly turned down an all-cash bid from personal fairness big Apollo in favor of the Skydance talks, sparking concern from some third-party shareholders.
Seligman, Ostroff and Terrell all serve on the Paramount board’s impartial committee tasked with evaluating affords. It’s not clear if their departures will affect these talks, or had been on account of these talks.
Within the proxy submitting, Paramount merely famous that it was nominating seven individuals to be administrators at this 12 months’s annual assembly, and that “efficient as of the Annual Assembly, the scale of the Board might be lowered to seven administrators” from the present 11.
The proxy submitting additionally disclosed Paramount’s prime govt pay packages, with CEO Bob Bakish incomes $31.3 million in 2023, together with a $3.1 million wage, $15.5 million in inventory awards, and $12.4 million in non-equity incentive comp. That was down barely from $32 million a 12 months earlier.
Bakish’s compensation bundle had totaled $20 million in 2021, adopted by a leap in 2022 on account of a $16 million inventory awards grant.
CFO Naveen Chopra had a compensation bundle of $8 million in 2023, up barely from $6.5 million the 12 months prior.
Early this year, Bakish urged his employees to prioritize “managing prices” and earnings progress in 2024. The CEO later issues official, unveiling plans for job reductions within the U.S., an estimated 800 in accordance with sources, and cuts overseas over time.
Paramount’s stock dropped in 2023 to the tune of 17 %.