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National Amusements, owned by media baron Sumner Redstone and
his daughter Shari Redstone, on Thursday urged the boards of
Viacom and CBS to explore a combination.
National Amusements, the majority shareholder of CBS and Viacom,
also said it would not support the acquisition of either media
company by a third party or surrender its control of either
firm.
The committee consists of independent directors Thomas May and
Nicole Seligman, who will act as co-chairs, and Kenneth Lerer,
Judith McHale, Ronald Nelson and Charles Phillips, Viacom said
in a statement.
Apart from Phillips, a long standing member of the Viacom board,
all the other members were picked by the Redstones as a part of
their battle for control of Viacom which resulted in the
departure of former CEO Philippe Dauman.
National Amusements owns 80 percent of the voting shares of both
media companies.
Shari Redstone, Sumner Redstone's daughter and an owner of
National Amusements, has favored recombining the two companies
under the leadership of CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, sources have
previously told Reuters.
Viacom has hired Debevoise & Plimpton LLP as its legal advisor,
and also expects to retain a financial adviser.
(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta)
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