Media powerhouses CBS and Viacom reach merger deal
CBS finally put a ring on it.
After months of discussions, CBS Corp., the network behind āThe Big š °Bang Theory,ā has agreed to tie the knot with Viacom to better position the two TV companies to compete against stļ·½reaming video giants like Netflix and Disney.
The all-stock deal, announced Tuesday, unites CBSās network shows as well as shows from its premium cable network Showtime with Viacomās Nikelodeon and MTV, the mšakers of āSpongeBob SquarePantsā and āJersey Shoreā respectively. It also reunites Sumner Redstoneās media empire for the first time since they split in 2006.
The new company will be called ViacomCBS and Redstoneās daughter, Shari Redstone, will be named chair. Shari Redstone ā who heads National Amusements, the majority shareholders of both CBS and Viacš«om ā has been pushing for the companies to reunite for yešars.
The companies’ boards agreed on an exchange ratio of 0.59625 CBS share for every Viacom Class B share, which means CBSās current shareholders will own 61 percent of the combines company versus Viacom holders who get 39 percent.
The new ViacomCBS will have a market capš„italization of $30 billion, but that still pales in comparison to competitors like Netflix, valued at $136 billion, and Walt Disney, valued at $245 billion.
Itās one reason Wall Street analysts and other media sources expect Shari Redstone to continue to hunt for acquisitions, including film studio Lionsgate or its ź¦premium cable network Starz. The board of CBS and Viacom have considered both entities before, sources said.
And as The Post previously reported, CBS has also considered acquiring Take-Two, the gaming compaź§ny run by CBS interim chairman Strauss Zelnick, Sony Pictures and MGM. It has also mulāled a potential merger with Discovery Communications, which owns the hit new reality show ā90 Day Fianceā through its TLC network.
While another acquisition could come later, the CBSš±-Viacom deal has long been Shari š°Redstoneās top priority.
The two companies came close to merging a year ago but a rift over who would run the combined company deraiš led talks. At the tšime, Les Moonves was head of CBS. He has since left amid a series of sexual harassment complaints.
Viacom also nixāed plans to merge with CBS in 2016.
Viacomās current boss Bob Bakish has been named the combined companyās president and CEO. Joseph
Ianniello, CBS current acting CEO, will continue to run the CBSā assets in his new role as chairman and CEO š
of CBS.
He took over the interim job last year after Moonves stepped down amid sexual misconduct allegations.