Tom Dooley, interim CEO of Viacom Inc., will step down from the post in mid-November, a month and a half later than originally planned,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
Viacom also announced it was cutting its dividend in half and will turn to debt markets to bolster near-term finances, the article said. In addition, the company said it was abandoning plans to sell a minority stake in Paramount Pictures and would take a $115 million write-down in its Paramount division, the report said.
Viacom's former CEO, Philippe Dauman, had advocated selling the stake in Paramount to raise cash.
Viacom's board “is now on the clock either to find a long-term leader to set the company on a fresh path or a temporary caretaker if a long-speculate merger with CBS is to be pursued,” the
Journal
article said. Sumner Redstone controls an 80% voting stake in both companies.
The
Journal
article said one reason why Dooley is leaving is that he believes the CEO's role under the current board lacks the authority to move quickly.
Viacom has not hired an executive search firm but plans to consider external and internal candidates, the article said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal
, Sept. 22, 2016.)
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