Sumner Redstone has again proved that if he vows not to do something, it’s almost a sure bet that he will do it.
The octogenarian swore last year that he would not sell any more Viacom and CBS shares beyond the $233 million his National Amusements unloaded last October to make debt payments.
But yesterday Redstone reneged, filing to unload all his common stock in Viacom and CBS to fund a $500 million debt payment due at NAI this month and another $1 billion due next year.
Redstone has been trying to sell some of NAI’s movie theaters to cover the payments, but hasn’t been able to get the price he wanted. Now he’s taking advantage of a 98 percent increase in Viacom’s stock price and a 62 percent increase in CBS’ stock price since his first share sale.
Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield said the move was more about ego than economics, however. Greenfield wrote in a report that Redstone was motivated by his need to “maintain control/ownership over everything.”
Viacom shares closed trading yesterday up 21 cents to $28.91, while CBS shares ended the session up 37 cents to $12.52.
NAI said it expects to sell about $600 million of Viacom stock and roughly $345 million of CBS. The offering will reduce Redstone’s equity interest in both companies, which currently stands at around 10.5 percent for each, though his voting control of Viacom and CBS will remain intact at more than 75 percent.