Toppers know the deal

Dauman, Dooley come into focus

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

Dauman

As competitors and insiders alike speculated Tuesday about the newest Viacom drama, many were wondering who are Philippe Dauman and Thomas Dooley, and what will they bring to a conglom in extreme transition?

The two are former vice chairmen of Viacom, corporate directors, wealthy private investors -- and two people who have won the trust of one of the country's most powerful (if unpredictable) media dealmakers.

In the late '90s, Dauman and Dooley had a weekly inhouse lunch with Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone in which the pair often discussed possible partnerships and pacts with the empire builder. Many famous deals came out of those lunches, including the purchase of CBS. (When the deal was in place, they quietly stepped aside and let Mel Karmazin take center stage). Under their watchful eye, Viacom stock tripled.

Though they've had a low profile in Hollywood, Dauman and Dooley earned high praise Tuesday from those who have worked with them. They are described as savvy dealmakers, meticulous detailers who are well mannered and easy to deal with -- as long as the numbers come in. The new Paramount regime will thus have to deal with a style they're not used to: Unlike Tom Freston, Dauman and Dooley are first and foremost numbers guys.

Redstone on Tuesday hailed them as "highly aggressive and entrepreneurial" execs who will "let no opportunities pass and let no company ever beat us to the trophy," a likely reference to MySpace. Redstone has made it known that he was unhappy to have lost out on MySpace to Rupert Murdoch.

Dauman and Dooley will have the financial flexibility to buy companies with higher multiples than Viacom itself, which include new-media firms.

Many see their distance from existing structures as a great advantage.

"The most important thing they can bring in is change," Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield told Daily Variety. "They've been out of Viacom long enough that they are not tied to the current management team. If changes need to be made or mistakes need to be fixed, they'll be able to make them."

Dauman became close with Redstone after serving as his personal lawyer. He is the executor of Redstone's estate.

Dooley started with a previous incarnation of Viacom more than a quarter-century ago. He's an administration and finance whiz who served in various corporate positions with Viacom, including exec veep for finance and corporate development before, like Dauman, becoming a top lieutenant and vice chairman.

During Redstone's famous battle with Edgar Bronfman over USA, Dauman reportedly placed a key call to Bronfman and was involved in the brass-tacks negotiating that preceded the lawsuit.

Dooley was seen as a key architect of Redstone's deal to buy Blockbuster. While that didn't end well, at the time the purchase was perceived as a shrewd investment.

After the merger with CBS six years ago, Dauman and Dooley left to help smooth the way for the CBS acquisition and were reportedly given golden parachutes well upward of $100 million.

They ran DND Capital (an acronym of their two last names), a fund of comparatively modest capital.

DND took out stakes in small ventures like the Tennis Channel and the Spanish-language net Si TV.

Viacom stock took a 5% hit Tuesday. So the duo will have to convince Wall Street, as well as Viacom staffers; one MTV insider described the mood as morose at the loss of Freston.

In Freston, Redstone had a charismatic leader but a company, and corporate message, that was strangely lacking in charisma. In the new pair, he may have two more buttoned-down personalities that can again make the company a sexy buy for investors -- especially if the pair hire a chief operating officer, as some are pushing them to do.