Philippe Dauman Won't Pitch Wanda's Paramount Offer to Viacom Board in Person

Looks like fall has come early for Philippe Dauman.

The French-born executive has essentially given up on Viacom weeks before he was scheduled to officially step down from the media giant.

Instead of going to the Viacom Board of Directors to personally present Dalian Wanda offer for a 49 percent stake in Paramount Pictures — a proposal that Dauman had backed despite vocal opposition from Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone — the outgoing chairman now plans to recommend the deal via a memo. A source close to Viacom confirmed the change-of-heart to TheWrap.

In June, parent company National Amusements, Inc. changed Viacom’s by-laws to block a Paramount sale.

“The principal amendment requires that any sale or financial transaction affecting all or a portion of Paramount Pictures must be unanimously approved by the Viacom Board of Directors,” NAI wrote at the time.

Also Read: Judge Asks Redstone Family Members to Stop Fighting Each Other

In the last three weeks, Dauman has unloaded tens of millions of dollars in Viacom stock.

Before (and during) that share dump, he’d been battling with Sumner and Shari Redstone to keep his job atop the National Amusements, Inc.-owned corporation, but ultimately agreed to a settlement package worth roughly $72 million. The terms of that deal have him walking away in mid-September.

The Redstones, who oversee the privately held National Amusements that controls an 80 percent stake in both Viacom and CBS, have publicly stated no interest in selling a piece of Paramount. But Dauman and the board had intended to pull the trigger this summer.

Perhaps Sumner’s ex-protege doesn’t feel like wasting his time (and laser-pointer skills) on a live Wanda pitch since the terms of his settlement made any major sale of assets pretty much impossible given the new makeup of the board.

Beyond the Dauman ouster, Viacom’s addition of five new bodies to its board — all hand-picked by those Redstones — means that three others have to go as well. Those will probably be the other members who think Paramount could do better with a partner.

A Timeline of Sumner Redstone's Crazy Life in Pictures (Photos)

May 27, 1923: Sumner Murray Rothstein (later Redstone; pictured) is born in Boston, and the media world will never be the same.

Also Read: Here’s How Viacom’s Philippe Dauman Could Be Fired
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1979: Redstone (pictured) is badly burned in a hotel fire set by a disgruntled bus boy.

Read more about the unbelievable details here.

Also Read: Sumner Redstone Insists He Ousted Philippe Dauman, Opposes Paramount Sale

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1987: Redstone performs hostile takeover of media company Viacom, a stock that he'd been gobbling up.

That same VIAB stock has had a rough 22 months lately -- read all about that here.

Also Read: Viacom Director: Sumner Redstone Move to Oust Aides Is ‘Unsettling and Sad’
Viacom
1993: Redstone's Viacom acquires film studio Paramount Pictures.

This April, the aging figurehead publicly stated that he doesn't want to sell a minority stake in that company. The Viacom Board of Directors, on the other hand, is pushing for that to happen as early as end-of-June.

Also Read: Media Analyst: Philippe Dauman Will Be Fired, Viacom Stock Rewarded
Paramount Pictures
2000: Viacom and the so-called Tiffany Network, CBS, merge. It wouldn't last.

Just five years later, Viacom and CBS split, though the two publicly traded companies are still under the same umbrella -- Redstone's National Amusements, Inc. still controls 80 percent of both companies today.

Also Read: ‘Limitless’ Hits Its Limit: Showrunner Says CBS Drama Is Officially Canceled
Viacom/CBS
2006: Shortly after the spinning off, Sumner began feuding publicly with daughter Shari (the pair pictured together here) over her role within the companies.

On September 5 of that year, Sumner Redstone taps legal counsel Philippe Dauman to lead Viacom. Shari Redstone and Dauman seemingly haven't gotten along since then, though she's apparently repaired the relationship with her ailing father.

Also Read: Shari Redstone Calls Viacom’s Accusation of Manipulation ‘Absurd’
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October 2015: Sumner Redstone's longtime girlfriend Manuela Herzer (pictured) was booted as his healthcare proxy, losing her sizable inheritance in the process.

Dauman became Sumner Redstone's interim proxy, before Shari Redstone re-ingratiated herself and took the role over.

Herzer would sue in May 2016 to get back in the inner circle -- or at least reclaim her spot in Sumner Redstone's will -- but was denied by a judge. Sumner's mental competency was held up at the same hearing, though it wouldn't be the last time an adversary asks someone sitting on the bench to double-check that.

Also Read: Sumner Redstone Blasts Manuela Herzer as ‘F—ing Bitch’ in Video Testimony
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Jan 20, 2016: Activist investor SpringOwl calls for the Sumner Redstone (pictured, from 2012) to step down as Viacom and CBS chairman. The 92-year-old has had problems with his speech for years, and hasn't been able to so much as deliver a pre-written statement during quarterly investor calls.

Also Read: Sumner Redstone Insists He Ousted Philippe Dauman, Opposes Paramount Sale
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February 2016: CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves' replaces Sumner Redstone as the broadcast channel's chairman on the third of the month. Sumner Redstone takes on the title of "Chairman Emeritus."

A day later, Philippe Dauman (pictured, right, with Moonves, left, and Redstone, center) made the same exchange with Sumner Redstone at Viacom.

Also Read: Media Analyst: If Philippe Dauman Isn’t Fired, Les Moonves Might Be
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May 18, 2016: The Viacom Board of Directors votes to stop paying Sumner Redstone (pictured at LACMA), a perceived slap in the face by his legal counsel.

If you got a candid answer from someone at Viacom, however, they'd point out that the billionaire has plenty of money and does exactly zero work, so he's just fine. Plus, the company's been trying to cut costs where it can.

Also Read: Sumner Redstone Unveils Replacement Trustees for Philippe Dauman, George Abrams
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May 20, 2016: Sumner Redstone (pictured here with daughter Shari) removes Philippe Dauman and George Abrams as trustees in the Sumner M. Redstone Trust, and as board members of his family business, National Amusements, Inc.

This kicked off much public fighting between the two far-apart sides. The nastiest accusation came from Viacom and Dauman, who accused Shari Redstone of "manipulating" her father's signature.

They're not the only people who believe the daughter is pulling daddy's puppet-strings.

Also Read: Redstone-Viacom War: 5 Latest Developments – And What Comes Next
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May 23, 2016: Philippe Dauman (pictured) and George Abrams (insert) sue in a Massachusetts court to overrule their oustings.

Across the country, Sumner Redstone's attorneys ask a Los Angeles Court to affirm his competency, which would affirm the removals of Dauman and Abrams.

Also Read: Philippe Dauman Files Suit to Block Removal From Redstone Trust
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May 24, 2016: Sumner Redstone (pictured) replaces Philippe Dauman and George Abrams with his granddaughter Kimberlee Ostheimer and a pair of family friends, Tad Jankowski and Jill Krutick.

Also Read: Sumner Redstone Unveils Replacement Trustees for Philippe Dauman, George Abrams
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August 18, 2016: Dauman is ousted from the company in a deal that also settles outstanding legal disputes. Robert Bakish is later named president and CEO of Viacom.

Also Read: Philippe Dauman Ousted as Viacom CEO in Settlement With Sumner Redstone Family
Getty Images

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The CBS and Viacom chairman emeritus has survived a fire, family drama and more than his fair share of nonagenarian public humiliation — but he’s still got billions to show for it

May 27, 1923: Sumner Murray Rothstein (later Redstone; pictured) is born in Boston, and the media world will never be the same.

Also Read: Here’s How Viacom’s Philippe Dauman Could Be Fired

View In Gallery

A Timeline of Sumner Redstone's Crazy Life in Pictures (Photos)

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