Paramount Global Town Hall Delayed After Skydance Offer, Co-CEOs’ Shareholder Presentation

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A town hall for Paramount Global employees originally scheduled to take place Wednesday has been delayed until June 25.

In a note to employees obtained by Deadline, CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins recapped Tuesday morning’s annual shareholder meeting and also noted the rescheduling of the town hall. “Given the ongoing speculation regarding potential M&A, we want to be able to speak to you with as much candor and transparency as possible. By moving the date, our hope is to do just that,” they wrote.

The shift comes at a time that Paramount Global controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is mulling a merger offer from Skydance. The shareholder meeting largely skirted the topic of M&A, and instead gave Redstone a chance to make the case for the unorthodox Office of the CEO structure. She conceded it was unusual, but said it would harness the collective experience of three top execs with seasoning both at the company and in the entertainment industry. Cheeks, Robbins and McCarthy were installed in their new roles in April after the ouster of Bob Bakish.

The troika outlined a plan to shareholders to cut $500 million in annual overhead and juice streaming revenue through licensing and a potential joint venture or strategic partnership with a media or tech company. While more information can be expected to be conveyed at the town hall later this month, the CEOs also alluded to Paramount’s next quarterly earnings call in August as a moment when the investment community can expect to hear more details.

Paramount stock slipped 4% Tuesday in the wake of the meeting after having run up on Monday amid talk of Skydance being close to sealing a long-sought merger deal. Redstone did not appreciate the fact that Skydance’s revised offer satisfied many Class B (non-voting) shareholders while diminishing her proceeds, according to a report by Reuters. In creating more cash for shareholders, the David Ellison-run suitor decreased the valuation of the deal to $4.75 billion from $5 billion, the report said. (That price tag excludes the roughly $3 billion initial step of acquiring Redstone’s National Amusements, which controls 77% of Paramount’s Class A, or voting, stock.)