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US: Viacom Rejects CBS Merger Offer

By  |  April 4, 2018

A below-market bid for Viacom by CBS was immediately rejected, sources familiar with the situation said Wednesday, April 4.

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    Viacom will now propose a counteroffer to CBS. The owner of Nickelodeon and MTV networks believes it deserves a market premium and sees cost synergies of at least US$1 billion in the combination, according to sources.

    The offer was delivered verbally on Friday, March 30, these sources said. The CBS offer is 0.55 shares for each Viacom class B share. Viacom believes a “market price” ratio would be closer to 0.62, and the company would like an offer from CBS that values it above that.

    One point of contention with the deal is the executive slate that will run the combined company. Both sides appear to agree that CBS CEO Les Moonves should run the entity and he will remain at the company for at least two years. However, Moonves wants to pick his own No. 2 and favors Joe Ianniello, CBS’s chief operating officer. But Viacom and CBS controlling shareholder Shari Redstone favors Viacom CEO Bob Bakish in that role.

    Full Content: New York Post

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