Sumner Redstone, a 92 year old majority stakeholder of Viacom, had opposed the sale.
As per a report from the WSJ, Sumner Redstone, who holds a controlling stake in Viacom, is opposed to Phillipe Dauman’s, Viacom’s CEO, plans of selling a minority stake in Paramount Studio, a company that’s owned by Viacom.
This piece of news has compounded the turmoil that surrounds the future of the conglomerate that TV channels which include Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and others, midst pressures for Dauman for lifting Viacom’s share price.
In order to boost its bottom lines, earlier in February, Dauman had announced that it would seek a buyer for a minority stake in its prized asset, Paramount Studio.
So as to make the plan operational and bring him on board, Dauman has even visited Redstone’s residence, reads a WSJ report citing confidential sources who are familiar with the matter at hand.
Even though, Redstone who is 92 year old, has trouble speaking, WSJ has reported that Dauman has heard a “yes,” from Redstone.
Dauman has later recounted his visit to Redstone to Viacom’s board saying that a witness, a nurse, had seen Redstone agree to his plans of selling a minority stake in Paramount Studio, which could greatly help pacify investors who are looking to Dauman for major strategic changes.
When this plan had been announced, Redstone had then summoned Brad Grey, Paramount’s Chief, and had expressed his displeasure concerning the potential sale, reads a report from WSJ.
Redstone had also conveyed the same feeling to others, including Dauman.
“I don’t want to sell Paramount,” said Redstone repeatedly, as per a report from WSJ citing people familiar with the matter.
However, the WSJ report also says, Redstone did not raise any opposition to the plan at a Viacom board meeting in February.
Viacom could not be immediately reached for comment.
As per Hollywood media reports, the deal for selling a minority stake in Paramount is expected to happen by the end of June. As per company insiders, more than 3 dozen parties have registered for the bidding process.
A spokesman for Viacom has told the Hollywood Reporter, that the sale of a minority stake in Paramount is a go.
Earlier, Redstone has faced a lawsuit by his ex-girlfriend that challenged his mental competence. Redstone’s lawyers had reached a preliminary settlement over the lawsuit.
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