Redstone Granddaughter Agrees To Deal

Sumner, Keryn Redstone

(Reuters) -- The granddaughter of Viacom Inc's controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone has agreed to let a Massachusetts court dismiss claims brought by former company leaders, a step that will help end a battle over the fate of the media empire.

Lawyers for Keryn Redstone said at a Massachusetts court hearing on Friday they have also agreed to mediate remaining parts of her family dispute and that she will have an in-person meeting with her 93-year-old grandfather.

"There will be peace in the Redstone valley" said Keryn Redstone's attorney Pierce O'Donnell, speaking to reporters after the hearing at Norfolk County Probate and Family Court in Canton, Massachusetts.

Shari Redstone

Keryn Redstone's interest in a family trust is worth $1 billion, he said.

While some terms must still be hammered out, Friday's agreements will help end an ongoing legal saga over whether Redstone was mentally competent when he removed former Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams from a trust that will determine the fate of his media empire.

On Saturday, Viacom announced that it had come to an agreement with Redstone, and his privately-held National Amusements Inc, which owns 80 percent of the voting shares of Viacom and CBS Corp.

Dauman has stepped down as CEO and will receive as much as $90 million in cash and stock-based compensation, according to the agreement.

The LA Times reports Keryn Redstone, 34, is one of five beneficiaries of Sumner Redstone’s trust that holds the controlling stock in two media companies, Viacom and CBS Corp. Sumner Redstone created the trust more than a decade ago with the intention of leaving his valuable shares to his five grandchildren.

The trust was designed to treat his grandchildren equally — but a squabble broke out as to whether that would happen.

Keryn Redstone has been on the opposite side of several disputes with her powerful aunt, Shari Redstone, who will eventually oversee the trust with six other trustees.

Shari Redstone has three children; her youngest son also has been designated as an eventual trustee. Her brother Brent (Sumner Redstone’s only son) has two daughters: Keryn and Lauren.

Keryn Redstone’s Los Angeles lawyer, Pierce O’Donnell, had argued that tensions within the Redstone family had already put Keryn Redstone at a disadvantage.

This spring, a planned gift of $6 million to Keryn Redstone was abruptly cut out of Sumner Redstone’s personal estate plan. Keryn Redstone has said that her attempts to visit her grandfather at his Beverly Park mansion were likewise rebuffed. She said she last saw Sumner Redstone on Valentine’s Day.

Sumner Redstone’s lawyer, Robert Klieger, suggested a resolution to provide legal assurances that Keryn Redstone would be treated equally in any trust distributions — and that she be allowed to visit her grandfather.

During an afternoon recess, Klieger, O’Donnell and other attorneys hammered out a deal to clarify a section of the trust to make sure that Keryn Redstone would be on an equal footing with her sister and Shari Redstone’s children, according to Mike Lawrence, a spokesman for Sumner Redstone.

The mogul also agreed to meet with his granddaughter, a visit that is expected to take place in the next few weeks at Redstone’s home near Beverly Hills, Lawrence said.