At a Glance

  • Paramount Skydance's new Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cinelli will receive an annual salary of no less than $2.6 million, along with an annual target bonus of $1.1 million. The appointment took effect on Thursday, with details disclosed in a securities filing. According to Wednesday's press release, Cinelli simultaneously resigned from his roles on the company's board and audit committee, which he had held since September, and Paramount subsequently appointed Andrew Campion as a new director.
  • The CFO appointment comes as the Los Angeles entertainment company Paramount filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. in the Delaware Court of Chancery, intensifying an already fierce bidding war. In December, Paramount had agreed to accept an $82.7 billion stock-and-cash acquisition offer from streaming service Netflix.
  • The lawsuit accuses Warner Bros. Discovery of failing to provide shareholders with sufficient information about the Netflix acquisition deal and requests the court to order the company to disclose essential details so that WBD shareholders can make informed decisions. Paramount made this request in a letter to Warner Bros. shareholders on Monday.

In-Depth Analysis

According to the press release, Cinelli will oversee the entertainment company's tax, accounting, and investor relations affairs. He will succeed Andrew Warren, who has served as interim CFO since June, following the departure of former finance chief Naveen Chopra, who left to take the top financial position at gaming company Roblox. Paramount stated that Warren will remain with the company in an advisory capacity.

Cinelli previously worked at ride-hailing giant Uber and General Electric, and most recently served as CFO of Scale AI, a private AI company. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined Uber in 2016 and stayed for six years, holding roles including Vice President and Global Head of Strategic Finance; before that, he spent two years as CFO at GE Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Electric.

According to the filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cinelli will also receive a one-time signing bonus of $500,000, but if he leaves for any reason other than "termination by the company without cause or resignation by him for good reason" within the first year of his CFO tenure, he must repay the full amount.

In a statement in Wednesday's press release, Paramount CEO David Ellison praised Cinelli's financial leadership, saying, "I have immense respect for his financial acumen and his outstanding track record of guiding high-growth technology companies like GE Ventures, Uber, and Scale AI through expansion and transformation."

The Uber veteran takes over as CFO at a time when Paramount is increasing pressure on Warner Bros. shareholders. Paramount has made multiple attempts to acquire Warner Bros., including a $77.9 billion hostile takeover offer to shareholders in December after Netflix announced its acquisition. On December 22, the company announced a revised offer of $30 per share, with its controlling shareholder, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, providing a personal guarantee, agreeing to provide $40.4 billion in equity financing for the offer and to assume any damage claims.

On Monday, Paramount reiterated that Warner Bros.' board has failed to meaningfully engage with its acquisition offer and noted that it is "surprised by WBD's lack of transparency on basic financial matters." The company also emphasized that its offer is superior to Netflix's proposal.

"WBD has come up with increasingly novel excuses to avoid engaging with Paramount's deal, but it has never said—because it cannot say—that the Netflix transaction is financially superior to our actual offer," the company wrote in Monday's press release.

In addition to requesting the court to disclose more details, Paramount also announced plans to launch a proxy fight at Warner Bros.' next shareholder meeting. The company plans to "nominate a slate of directors who, in accordance with their fiduciary duties, will exercise WBD's rights under the Netflix agreement to engage with and complete a transaction with Paramount's offer," according to Monday's letter.

Warner Bros.' board unanimously rejected Paramount's offer and stated in a January letter to shareholders that the offer "is inferior to the Netflix merger due to significant costs, risks, and uncertainties."

On Thursday, according to Bloomberg, Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Morgan Zurn denied Paramount's request to expedite the lawsuit, ruling that the company failed to demonstrate it would suffer "irreparable harm" due to Warner Bros.' insufficient disclosures.

Paramount declined to comment on Cinelli's appointment beyond the press release.