The Art of the Settlement
It was the weekend before Paramount settled Donald Trump’s “60 Minutes” lawsuit and the company’s board had a message for its three co-chief executives, George Cheeks, Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy: consider increasing the offer to close the deal. For weeks, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, the executives had held firm at $15 million. But Trump’s legal team—apparently spooked by a looming court deadline that could move the case out of Amarillo, Texas—had begun dropping their demand. In recent days, their ask had steadily declined, until it landed at $20 million.
Sensing an opportunity, the people who spoke with Status said, the board wanted to know whether the triumvirate of CEOs were willing to budge and raise their offer from $15 million. Indeed, with the gap suddenly narrower than ever, the question was clear: What were the Paramount chiefs prepared to do to seal the deal?
On the last Saturday night in June, Robbins, Cheeks, and McCarthy huddled to discuss their next move…
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