Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman Agrees to Step Down
August 19 2016 - 6:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint and Sarah Rabil
Viacom Inc. Chief Executive Philippe Dauman has agreed to step
down effective immediately and the company's board will be expanded
as part of a settlement to end a drawn-out power struggle at the
media giant.
In a memo to employees Friday evening, Chief Operating Officer
Tom Dooley announced that he will assume the position of interim
CEO through September. The boards of Viacom and Sumner Redstone's
National Amusements Inc., which controls an 80% voting stake in the
media company, have approved the agreement to settle their dispute,
and the final deal is expected to be signed and announced shortly,
Mr. Dooley wrote.
By Sept. 30, the end of Viacom's fiscal year, Mr. Dooley said
that he and the board will have made a decision on succession
plans. Mr. Dauman, who has been CEO for almost a decade, is slated
to receive an exit package valued at around $72 million and will
remain as nonexecutive chairman until Sept. 13.
Under terms of the deal, the two sides will cease litigation
over control of Viacom and National Amusements. Mr. Dooley
confirmed that five directors nominated by National Amusements will
join Viacom's board.
Those directors include Thomas May, chairman of Eversource
Energy, who is expected to be named chairman after Mr. Dauman
leaves that role, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Three Viacom directors will depart the board after the annual
meeting under the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported
Thursday.
"I truly believe that Viacom's greatest accomplishments are
still ahead. It is a privilege and honor to be your CEO and I
pledge to do everything I can to build on all your hard work and
success," Mr. Dooley wrote.
He is considered a top candidate for the full-time CEO role,
people familiar with the matter have said.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com and Sarah Rabil at
Sarah.Rabil@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 19, 2016 18:22 ET (22:22 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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