Viacom and CBS Executives to Earn Big Bucks in Merger Deal

By Benjamin Mullin Updated Aug. 19, 2019 8:32 pm ET The merger of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. CBS.A 1.03% will be lucrative for the top executives of both companies.

Viacom and CBS—codenamed “Venus” and “Comet” in the merger proposal—last week struck a deal to reunite the empire of media mogul Sumner Redstone, creating a conglomerate with a valuation of $27 billion. The deal will combine Viacom’s popular cable channels, including Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, as well as its Paramount movie and TV studio, with the CBS broadcast network and premium cable channel Showtime.

Mr. Bakish will also be given a one-time stock grant of ViacomCBS shares worth $5 million. A $31 million pay package would make Mr. Bakish the 12th highest-paid CEO in the S&P 500, where median total pay last year was about $12.5 million, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of 2018 pay data from MyLogIQ LLC, omitting companies that changed CEOs during the year.

Mr. Bakish’s predecessors at Viacom and CBS have made considerably more than what he is set to earn as chief of the combined company. CBS reported paying Leslie Moonves more than $69 million each year in 2017 and 2016, while Viacom reported paying Philippe Dauman $93 million in 2016, his last year on the job. Both boards’ composition was drastically different at the time.

Retaining Mr. Ianniello was a priority, in part, because of his deep knowledge of the company’s broadcast operations, its terms with distributors and its digital partnerships, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Ianniello’s employment agreement said only ViacomCBS directors have the authority to fire him or change his compensation—details that the Journal reported last week.

Running The Race

Unbelievable. And the CBS CEO gets $70million ‘cause he didn’t get to be CEO of the new company. Boo hoo

Mr. CEO been my title

I hope that money can buy him some better make up.

I’ll never understand how a person walking into an already existing company is worth so much. As a founder sure, but the market has already been proven for most of these overpaid cogs.

I'm sure he's a leader among those that care more about the consumer, than stock-holders... or even CEOs... like himself.

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