Shares of Paramount Global PARA dropped 2.7% in afternoon trading, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the media and entertainment company had turned down a bid from former executive David Nevins to buy its Showtime streaming service for more than $3 billion. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said Nevins’ bid, which was backed by private-equity firm General Atlantic, was the latest approach for Showtime Paramount has received the past few years, including from former Showtime executive Mark Greenberg. As the WSJ has previously reported, Paramount has decided to keep Showtime as it looks for cost savings and revenue from folding the premium streaming service into its Paramount+ streaming service this year. Paramount’s stock has rallied 11.7% over the past three months but has tumbled 29.8% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX has lost 8.8% the past year.
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