National Amusements, the holding company through which Sumner Redstone controls Viacom Inc., is planning to replace at least some directors on Viacom’s board, according to news reports.
“The development signals a bold move to reshape the Viacom board with the ultimate goal of firing Philippe P. Dauman as chairman and chief executive of the company,”
a
New York Times
report said.
Citing unnamed sources, the
Times
article said, “One possibility that has been discussed is that the new Viacom board would serve a short term before National Amusements pushed to merge Viacom with CBS, the other entertainment company it controls.” Viacom and CBS were split into two separate companies in 2006.
“The new directors are likely to be aligned with Mr. Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, who was long estranged from her father but has recently reconciled with him,” the
Times
article said. “She has publicly opposed Mr. Dauman’s ascent at the company and, according to court documents, has ‘frequently repeated to the Viacom board’ that Mr. Dauman should be replaced.” Dauman contends that Sumner Redstone lacks the mental capacity to make business decisions and is being manipulated by his daughter, the article said.
“Six directors loyal to Mr. Dauman vowed last moth that they would fight any moves to eject them from the board and said they had made preparations to challenge any dismissal in court,” the
Times
report said. (Source:
New York Times
, June 9, 2016.)
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