Some might have wondered what would happen to Shari Redstone, board member of entertainment giant Paramount Global (PARA), and one of the biggest factors in making a deal for the company. Media reports say Redstone is planning to step down from Paramount’s board of directors. PARA stock rose nearly 2% in the closing minutes of trading as that news broke.
The bottom line is that Redstone is out. She will officially depart Paramount’s board once the merger with Skydance Media concludes in 2025. The “New Paramount,” as it is being called, did hold a slot open on its board for Redstone, as well as for her son Tyler Korff. But Korff, who is a lawyer and entrepreneur, reportedly passed on the offer.
The new board is set to have 11 members, with five nominated by David Ellison, who will be the new chairman at Paramount. A total of three board members will be independent. Skydance Media will have the right to elect the board’s vice-chairperson.
Smile 2 Marketing
On another front, Paramount has developed some interesting marketing for the release of horror movie Smile 2. Viewers will be able to watch seven minutes of the movie for free, assuming they are willing to do one little thing. That little thing? Smile into their webcam the entire time. A report from Deadline revealed that Paramount is offering the seven-minute clip to anyone willing to smile into their webcam for the duration of the promotional clip.
In a dark twist, people who fail to hold their grins will have the clip stopped and a message appear that says “keep smiling.” Some clips have already shown up on YouTube, so if you want to watch without the grinning, that appears to also be possible.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, six Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.11% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.67 per share implies 16.51% upside potential.
