Mario Gabelli, the second-largest holder of voting shares in Viacom, has called for the company to sell a stake in its Paramount movie studio to Jack Ma's Alibaba Group “to generate new funds and smooth the way for it to produce more films in China,”
the
Financial Times
reported.
Gabelli's firm, Gamco, owns 10% of Viacom's voting shares. The largest voting shareholder is Sumner Redstone's family company, National Amusements, the
FT
report noted. Redstone, 92, is the executive chairman of Viacom and CBS. Gamco is also the second-largest holder of voting shares in CBS, the article said.
Alibaba Pictures, Alibaba's entertainment unit, invested in Paramount's
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
and was the official partner for the movie's release in China, the article said.
Gabelli told the
FT
that Viacom's board should have disclosed more information about Redstone's health. In a lawsuit, Redstone's former girlfriend, Manuela Herzer, has alleged that his mental health has declined. (Source:
Financial Times
, Dec. 4, 2015.)
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