LOS ANGELES _ Management upheaval continues at media company Viacom Inc., as its interim chief executive, Thomas Dooley, is leaving the company, and a proposed sale of a piece of Hollywood movie studio Paramount Pictures is being abandoned.
The moves follow last month's ouster of longtime Chief Executive Philippe Dauman, as part of a settlement with Sumner Redstone and his daughter, Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholders of the media company.
Dooley then stepped into the top job with hopes of being able to remake the media company, where he has worked since 1980.
But Dooley's departure, which will come in mid-November, furthers Shari Redstone's goal of completely overhauling the leadership of the beleaguered media company that has seen its stock plummet about 50 percent in the last two years. Shari Redstone had agreed to give Dooley a chance in the top job as one of the conditions of the high-profile legal settlement between the Redstone family and Dauman and other Viacom board members.
When Dooley was elevated to chief executive, from chief operating officer, many thought he would be given a year or more to try to remake the media company that owns such prominent TV channels as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and VH1. But his tryout lasted less than four weeks.
His interim chief executive assignment was designed to last at least until the end of September, the end of Viacom's fiscal year. Dooley had received some encouragement that he might be able to stick around longer.
"I am pleased that Tom Dooley has agreed to stay on as Interim president and CEO through Nov. 15 to allow the board to conduct an orderly succession process," Tom May, chairman of the board, said in a statement.
Dooley's previous employment contract had a provision that allowed him to eject with a golden parachute.
"While this was a difficult decision for me, I have great admiration for our new board, and I feel that they will be best able to execute on their vision for the company in the hands of a new president and CEO," Dooley said in a statement. "I want to thank Sumner, Shari and the members of the board for the opportunities they have provided me."
Viacom's stock has continued to slide since the shake-up that saw the departure of Dauman, who had fought unsuccessfully for three months to keep his job.
Now Viacom needs to shore up its balance sheet because it has debt payments looming and no injection of capital on the horizon now that the Paramount sale has been scratched. So the board on Wednesday said it was slashing its dividend _ a move that Wall Street had been expecting. The company is cutting its dividend in half.
Viacom's quarterly dividend will be trimmed to 20 cents per share, and the company will look to refinance some of its debt to improve liquidity and financial flexibility, the company said.
"The board believes Viacom has a product strategy that is among the best in the industry. The steps we are taking will make the company financially stronger and more flexible and will position Viacom to take advantage of future growth opportunities," May said in his statement.
The company also announced it was taking a write-down in the current quarter because of the anticipation of another disappointment from Paramount Pictures. The company reduced its guidance for quarterly earnings, in the range of 65 cents to 70 cents a share, for the current fiscal period. The company said the revision was because of an impairment charge of $115 million in its Paramount film unit related to lowered expectations for an upcoming movie.
"The company has ended the process of seeking a minority investor in Paramount Pictures at this time, in order to consider all options available to the company," Viacom said in a statement.
.png?w=600)
