Viacom Control Shift to Redstone Heir Lifts Prospect of CBS Deal
Posted in: UncategorizedShari Redstone has taken control at Viacom Inc. after vanquishing challengers. Now comes the hard part: deciding what to do with all that power.
The daughter of 93-year-old billionaire Sumner Redstone, whose frail health ignited the power struggle in which she triumphed, is considering recombining Viacom with CBS Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. Such a move would reunite the two pillars of the Redstone family’s media empire, though CBS shareholders may blanch at the idea of taking on Viacom’s struggling cable networks and movie studio.
CBS, whose CEO Leslie Moonves has been on good terms with the Redstones, hasn’t received any indication that a deal is imminent, according to a person familiar with the matter; its board would need to support any transaction. CBS declined to comment and Shari Redstone, who serves as vice chair of both companies, didn’t respond to a request for comment. A CBS merger is just one of many decisions the Redstones will consider, including how to boost the ratings of Viacom networks and whether its creative leaders are the right ones.
Post a Comment