Report: CBS Board To Talk Viacom Merger

CBS Corp’s board is expected to discuss a merger with Viacom Inc on Thursday, sources told Reuters, a move that could begin a formal process to reunite the companies split by controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone more than a decade ago.

The board will need to decide if the deal is now attractive enough to CBS shareholders to overshadow concerns that scuttled a proposed tie-up pushed by Sumner and his daughter Shari Redstone in 2016.

The CBS board meeting is regularly scheduled and no announcement may come out of it, said the sources, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media.

Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish and CBS CEO Leslie Moonves talked about the potential merger earlier this month, Reuters reported.

Viacom’s Nickelodeon and MTV networks and Paramount films could help broadcast-focused CBS’ All Access streaming service become more competitive, and the combined company could also better negotiate with cable and satellite distributors.

Some could argue Viacom’s international presence is now more important for CBS given the rapid decline in U.S. cable subscriptions, some analysts have noted.

Walt Disney Co’s recent deal to buy Twenty-First Century Fox Inc assets has stoked a fresh push from Shari Redstone to rejoin the companies her father split in 2006.

Bakish has improved distributor relations, found financing for Paramount Pictures after Chinese investors dropped out and shuffled programming since taking over Viacom in late 2016.

Moonves and CBS’ board had concerns over corporate governance and the deal’s financial rationale, and the Redstones called off the effort in December 2016.