Paramount Global Grants Co-CEOs New Stock Awards Valued At $3 Million

Paramount Global’s board has approved new grants of restricted stock valued at $3 million for each of its co-CEOs, Chris McCarthy, George Cheeks and Brian Robbins.

Cheeks, CEO of CBS; McCarthy, CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon; were installed in the Office of the CEO after the ouster of Bob Bakish in April as Paramount was in the process of selling itself. The company controlled by Shari Redstone later inked a deal with Skydance that’s expected to close in 2025.

McCarthy was designated interim principal executive officer for purposes of the rules and regulations of the SEC.

The trio’s compensation was sweetened in June to reflect their new roles, including an increase in their target annual cash bonuses under the company’s short-term incentive plan by an additional 100% of their annual base salaries.

In an SEC filing today, Paramount said that the three would be entitled to resign “for good reason,” collecting corresponding severance payouts, if their duties changed materially — which is common in CEO contracts.

And the enhanced compensation, which previously had been set to continue only as long as they were in the Office of the CEO, will continue to apply for the duration of their employment with Paramount in any capacity, CEO or not — which is not that common.

The additions appear to be a push to retain the executives during a complex transition for media including hundreds of layoffs at the company ahead of the sale to David Ellison’s Skydance, and a recent public tiff between Redstone and CBS News.

The June filing said Cheeks, Robbins and McCarthy would qualify for a severance payment of twice their base pay in the increasingly likely event that the company changes hands. They also can continue to receive benefits for 24 months after their departures. For the period they serve in the Office of the CEO, each also is eligible for an annual cash bonus of $2.75 million.

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