Sumner Redstone's Removes Five Viacom Directors

Sumner Redstone

Sumner Redstone's National Amusements removed five board members of Viacom, setting up a legal fight amid deepening turmoil in the mogul's $40 billion media empire.

National Amusements, the holding company through which Mr. Redstone controls Viacom, said it has removed directors including Philippe P. Dauman, who is Viacom's CEO and a 30-year trusted confidant of Mr. Redstone.

In recent weeks, the 93-year-old Mr. Redstone, who is in poor health, has been overhauling his empire, which also includes CBS Corp. He recently ousted Mr. Dauman and George S. Abrams, another Viacom director who was removed, from the trust that will oversee his holdings after he dies or is incapacitated. He also booted the two men from his holding company, National Amusements.

The removed Viacom directors are: George S. Abrams, Philippe P. Dauman, Blythe J. McGarvie, Frederic V. Salerno and William Schwartz.

New Viacom directors are: Kenneth Lerer, managing partner at Lerer Hippeau Ventures and the chairman of BuzzFeed; Thomas May, chairman of Eversource Energy; Judith McHale, president and chief executive officer of Cane Investments and a former Discovery Communications executive; Ronald Nelson, executive chairman of Avis Budget Group; and Nicole Seligman, who until March served as the president of Sony Entertainment Inc.