CBS and Viacom Finally Reach a Merger Deal

It has been three years of on and off discussions between CBS and Viacom over merging and now the deal has finally happened.

CBS shares rose 1.5% and Viacom shares rose 1.77% as Wall Street learned the news.

The two companies have finally agreed to merge and the newly combined company will be called ViacomCBS and will be run by Viacom’s CEO Bob Bakish.

Joe Ianiello, who was serving as CBS CEO since last year, will become the chairman of CBS and will be in charge of CBS assets after the merger.

Ianiello stated, “This merger brings an exciting new set of opportunities to both companies. At CBS, we have outstanding momentum right now – creatively and operationally – and Viacom’s portfolio will help accelerate that progress. I look forward to all we will do together as we build on our ongoing success. And personally, I am pleased to remain focused on CBS’s top priority – continuing our transformation into a global, multiplatform, premium content company.”

Existing CBS shareholders will own roughly 61% of the combined company while Viacom shareholders will own the remaining 39%. Each Viacom shareholder will receive .59625 shares of CBS shares.

“I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets,” Shari Redstone said in the statement. “My father once said ‘content is king,’ and never has that been more true than today.”

Shari, is the vice chairman of the board at both CBS and Viacom and has long desired putting the companies
back together. The two companie are controlled by Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements.

CBS and Viacom plan to “accelerate” their streaming strategies and expand globally, according to a statement.

A Viacom press release stated, “The combined company, ViacomCBS Inc., will be a leading global, multiplatform, premium content company, with the assets, capabilities and scale to be one of the most important content producers and providers in the world. The combined company will be a scale player globally, with leadership positions in markets across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia. This includes the largest television business in the U.S., with the highest share of broadcast and cable viewing across all key audience demographics, and strength in every key category, including News, Sports, General Entertainment, Pop Culture, Comedy, Music and Kids – making it a first-choice partner to distributors and advertisers. In addition, the combined company will possess a portfolio of fast-growing direct-to-consumer platforms, including both subscription and ad-supported offerings. It will also include a major Hollywood film studio, Paramount Pictures, which has been a producer and global distributor of filmed entertainment for more than a century and continues to be a global box office driver. Taken together, these distinct strengths will accelerate CBS and Viacom’s ability to deliver an array of compelling content to important and diverse audiences across both traditional and emerging platforms around the world.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.