Paramount Grants Three Co-CEOs Change-in-Control Severance Benefits, Cash Bonuses
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor As an M&A event looms on the horizon for Paramount Global, the three execs in the conglomerate’s “Office of the CEO” are now eligible for stepped-up severance payments in the event of a sale or merger — and the company also will award them cash bonuses for the time they serve as co-CEOs.
The move comes as Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, is evaluating a merger offer from David Ellison’s Skydance Media, which the Paramount Global board’s special committee has recommended.
Meanwhile, that protracted sale process has attracted other bidders interested in buying out Redstone’s National Amusements Inc., which owns 77% of the voting shares in Paramount, including Edgar Bronfman Jr.
On Monday, Paramount disclosed that the three members of the Office of the CEO — George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon — have been designated as participants in the company’s Executive Change in Control Severance Protection Plan.
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