US: Viacom and CBS to Merge Again?

A report in The Wrap last week indicated that CBS and Viacom majority owners, the Redstone family, is once again interested in pursuing the deal and that CBS’s CEO Leslie Moonves is more amenable to such a transaction.  However, Bloomberg and CNBC have both noted that there are no active merger discussions going and no bankers have been hired. Some on Wall Street aren’t enthused by a combined CBS-Viacom.

A time frame for any potential merger is unclear, but three individuals with knowledge of the companies said that Shari Redstone is actively moving in that direction, which represented another shift in her back-and-forth mindset on the matter.

CBS chairman Les Moonves, who has long resisted talk of recombining the companies, is now open to the possibility, the insiders said. He would be the most likely person to run the merged companies, though Redstone is considering other candidates, according to two insiders.

An individual close to Moonves acknowledged the process to TheWrap, “He’s having active discussions with Shari and the board on a wide variety of issues all the time, including this one. And those discussions continue with regard to looking to merge the two companies.”

Full Content: The Wrap

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