Skydance Media on Monday rolled out the brand new government management staff forward of this week’s long-stalled $8 billion merger with Paramount World.
Skydance CEO David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, will assume the helm of the brand new publicly traded firm, to be referred to as Paramount Skydance Corp., when it debuts Thursday.
The media big — whose properties embrace CBS, MTV, the Paramount Photos studio and the Paramount+ streaming service — will probably be structured into three main enterprise segments: Studios, Direct to Client, and TV Media, the tech scion mentioned.
Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUinversal who was ousted by mum or dad firm Comcast in 2023 over allegations of inappropriate conduct with a CNBC reporter, will function president.
Shell had moved on to turn into sports activities and media chairman at RedBird Capital Companions, one of many main traders within the deal that purchased out media heiress Shari Redstone’s controlling stake in Paramount.
Present Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks — who was instrumental in settling Paramount’s lawsuit with President Trump over the controversal “60 Minutes” edit of its Kamala Harris interview — will stay on the new firm because the chair of the TV Media division.
Cindy Holland, a former Netflix exec who has been serving as a senior adviser to Ellison since October, will oversee the direct-to-consumer division, which incorporates Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
RedBird’s Andy Gordon, a veteran of Goldman Sachs, will function chief working officer, whereas Paramount’s Andrew Warren will proceed as interim chief monetary officer.
Skydance chief artistic officer Dana Goldberg and former Sony Movement Image Group president Josh Greenstein will seize the reins as co-chairs of Paramount Photos. Goldberg can even function chair of Paramount Tv, whereas Greenstein will function vice chair of platforms.
Moreover, Skydance’s basic counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon will be part of as Paramount’s basic counsel and performing chief authorized officer, whereas Amazon World Media and Leisure’s Jim Sterner will function chief folks officer and Melissa Zukerman will function chief communications officer.
“I’m thrilled to introduce our new government management staff — backed by deep business expertise, confirmed monitor data, and a shared dedication to excellence, this world-class staff is uniquely geared up to rise to the event and ship on our daring imaginative and prescient for a brand new Paramount,” Ellison mentioned in an announcement.
“Every member was chosen to align with our targets and with the intention to drive transformation. Collectively, we’ll foster an surroundings the place artistic and technical expertise collaborate seamlessly, marrying main applied sciences with highly effective storytelling and creative imaginative and prescient to unlock Paramount’s full potential and assist form the way forward for our business.”
Beneath the two-step merger, Skydance will purchase Redstone’s holding firm Nationwide Amusements earlier than merging with the impartial Hollywood studio behind the latest hits “Prime Gun: Maverick” and “Mission:Not possible — The Remaining Reckoning.”
The new deal offers $2.4 billion for Redstone, $4.5 billion to non-NAI Paramount shareholders and an extra $1.5 billion in new capital to assist pay down debt and recapitalize the corporate’s steadiness sheet, the corporate mentioned.
Redstone, who will obtain $180 million in severance and different advantages on high of her inventory, will exit the board of administrators as soon as the deal is accomplished.
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