News WSJ, Deadline, and NYP are reporting about a possible Comcast-ViacomCBS partnership/merger/sale

Char Kais · Feb 19, 2022

Financial Times:

https://www.ft.com/content/388b0122-1a75-42f6-a89e-add8e3385bc8

Shari Redstone won the battle for her media empire. Now comes the streaming war

Paramount is facing growing doubts over its ability to compete with larger digital rivals

Click to expand...

Redstone has been informally speaking with potential buyers of Paramount over the past year. But talks have not advanced because of the complexity of the asset and the high price she would seek, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Click to expand...

But investors are unconvinced that in an entertainment landscape filled with much bigger competitors — such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney — Paramount can compete on its own. For some investors and analysts, its best move is to sell to a larger rival.

Click to expand...

This has created a peculiar situation where Redstone’s ambitions for her company, and perceived willingness to protect its independence, appear almost inversely correlated to its stock market performance. One sympathetic former CBS executive described it as “a tragedy”.

After the presentation on Tuesday, Bank of America analysts downgraded their outlook for Paramount, concluding that a sale was not “imminent”.

Click to expand...

Some people close to Redstone question whether she would be ready to part ways with the business. “She has spent years of her life on this. She fought with her own father, she has fought with Les Moonves, who at the time was the most revered guy in all of Hollywood, who she took down,” said one person who has known the Redstones for years.

“There is a tremendous amount of emotion attached to her controlling this business now.”

Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

News WSJ, Deadline, and NYP are reporting about a possible Comcast-ViacomCBS partnership/merger/sale

Char Kais Commander Red Shirt

Log in or Sign up

News WSJ, Deadline, and NYP are reporting about a possible Comcast-ViacomCBS partnership/merger/sale

Char Kais Commander Red Shirt

Useful Searches