Gabelli Urges Paramount to Stay Independent, Pay Down Debt Instead of Merging with Skydance

• Wall Street investor Mario Gabelli opposes a potential merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. He believes Paramount would be better off remaining independent under CEO Bob Bakish.

• Gabelli thinks Paramount should focus on paying down debt by selling some TV channels rather than merging. He suggests selling to Byron Allen, who has shown interest.

• Gabelli believes Paramount shares could reach $41 by 2027 through Bakish's turnaround strategy, without needing a merger. Streaming and TV revenues are projected to grow substantially.

• Several Paramount shareholders and directors have voiced opposition to a Skydance deal, seeing little benefit beyond a payout for top stakeholder Shari Redstone.

• Gabelli says if Redstone sells her voting shares to Skydance without fair compensation to other investors, he will sue Paramount.