Mario Tama
Three directors at Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) are expected to exit the board as the company discusses merging with Skydance Media, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Dawn Ostroff, Nicole Seligman, and Rob Klieger are expected to step down over coming weeks, according to the report.
Notably, Ostroff and Seligman are on a special independent board committee charged with pursuing the best possible deal for Paramount. Klieger is Redstone’s longtime attorney.
Controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has come under criticism for reportedly negotiating a transaction that reportedly stops short of a full sale or takeover: Recent reports suggest National Amusements (the Redstone family company controlling Paramount) is talking about selling itself to David Ellison’s Skydance, after which Paramount might acquire Skydance for around $5B.
The talks have drawn grumbling from economic holders of Paramount’s nonvoting stock (PARA), who fret about dilution in a deal that rewards Shari Redstone at the expense of the nonvoting Class B holders, vs. a competing offer from Apollo Global Management (APO) to buy all of Paramount for $26B.
Paramount’s nonvoting Class B shares (PARA) sank 4.7% on the news, as did the voting Class A shares (PARAA) -4%.
