Viacom requests turnaround plan for Paramount

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing describing its corporate restructuring, Viacom Inc. said new interim CEO Tom Dooley and the board will ask Paramount Pictures to present a turnaround plan,

the

Wall Street Journal

reported.

Shari Redstone, daughter of controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone, “has expressed concerns about the current leadership at Paramount,” the


Journal


article said. Citing an unnamed source, the article said Shari Redstone wants Viacom's new board to “determine what is best for Paramount.”

Paramount CEO Brad Grey has run the studio for 11 years, and his contract was renewed last year to 2020, the


Journal


article said. Since 2012, Paramount has been tied for last place in market share among the six largest Hollywood studios, the


Journal


article said.

Philippe Dauman, Viacom's outgoing chairman and CEO, had sought to sell a stake in Paramount, but National Amusements Inc., the Redstone family holding company, is not enthusiastic about that plan. “Earlier this year, National Amusements amended its bylaws to require unanimous board approval of any Paramount deal,” the article said. (Source:


Wall Street Journal


, Aug. 25, 2016.)