CBS and Viacom have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger, reuniting the two halves of a historic media empire looking to compete in an entertainment industry that has been upended by Netflix. The companies agreed to convert each Viacom share into 0.59625 shares of CBS, valuing Viacom at about $28.80 a share, or about $12bn. CBS shareholders will control about 61 per cent of the combined group, which will be renamed ViacomCBS. The merged group brings together the most-watched US broadcast TV channel, home to shows like 60 Minutes and The Big Bang Theory, with the owner of the Paramount Pictures film studio and a portfolio of cable channels.
The reunion of the sister companies, which are both controlled by the Redstone family, has been years in the making, fraught by family feuds and the dramatic fall of CBS’s longtime leader Les Moonves. After Mr Moonves was ousted following devastating allegations of sexual misconduct, CBS’s board was revamped. The boards of CBS and Viacom have spent the northern summer discussing the merger once again, although talks ramped up in the past few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter
