Viacom Says It Hired Advisers to Evaluate a Merger With CBS
October 14 2016 - 10:09AM
Dow Jones News
By Joshua Jamerson
Viacom Inc. said Friday it has hired financial advisers to help
evaluate a potential deal to merge with CBS Corp.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported that the company
hired Morgan Stanley, citing people familiar with the matter.
Viacom said Friday that the special committee on Viacom's board is
evaluating the prospects of a marriage have indeed hired Morgan
Stanley, as well as Allen & Company and LionTree LLC. Viacom
said it doesn't plan to comment further "unless and until it
determines that additional disclosure is appropriate."
CBS's special committee, for its part, has retained Lazard as
its financial adviser and Morton Pierce of White & Case as its
legal counsel, The Journal reported.
The disclosure from Viacom comes two weeks after Sumner
Redstone's National Amusements Inc., which controls the boards of
both companies, publicly called for the firms to explore a reunion
of the media giants, arguing that a combined company could better
tackle shifting consumer trends.
A merger would bring under one roof CBS, a prime-time ratings
juggernaut, and Viacom's struggling networks, such as MTV and
Comedy Central, which typically pursue younger audiences that have
been drawn to streaming services such as Netflix.
Given the struggles of Viacom's cable networks and its Paramount
Pictures studio, finding a valuation that both sides can live with
will be one of the big challenges in pulling off a deal, and there
will be plenty of work for the investment banking and law firm
crowd.
Viacom shares, up 0.5% in morning trading, has fallen 20% in the
past three months. CBS stock, up 1% in morning trading, is down
3.5% in the past three months.
Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 14, 2016 09:54 ET (13:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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