That CBS-Viacom merger? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has withdrawn her intent to have the two entities come together, according to a Monday statement from controlling shareholder National Amusements.
“Over the past few months, after careful assessment and meetings with the leadership of both companies, we have concluded that this is not the right time to merge the companies,” said the statement, addressed to the boards of both companies.
“We know Viacom has tremendous assets that are currently undervalued, and we are confident that with this new strong management team, the value of these assets can be unleashed.”
The letter also praised CBS’ performance.
The news comes as both companies cooled on negotiations to form a single broadcast cable giant, which had been widely expected by Wall Street and a cadre of bankers and lawyers hoping to win big.
Viacom, dogged by falling revenue, weak ratings and corner office turmoil, had seen its shares slump over the past year — until Redstone on Sept. 29 suggested a merger. Sensing that CBS would have to pay a premium for the dog, Viacom shares perked up.
News that the merger plans were scuttled sent Viacom shares down 6.6 percent, to $36.09 in Monday morning trading.
CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves, never keen on the Viacom merger, has had bankers aggressively pursuing potential outside deals with a host of content players around the industry, The Post has learned.
One of those plays could involve Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film and TV studio, several sources said.
Sony Corp.’s Hollywood film and TV studio is not known to be for sale.
“CEO Leslie Moonves used to have a standing meeting with Howard Stringer [former CEO of Sony Corp of America] where he would beg the Sony US boss to let CBS buy the company,” one source said. “He’d love to buy Sony Pictures. He thinks the motion pictures piece is a piece of s- -t but he believes the Sony international channels would be complimentary and the TV production division could make a ton of sense.”
Meanwhile, there are lots of moving parts as the media world continues to contract.
Verizon, which bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015 and is in the process of buying Yahoo’s core assets for $4.8 billion, is “poking around” CBS, a separate source said.
“[Verizon] has some interest in CBS,” the source noted.
Verizon’s interest may have been piqued by AT&T’s pending acquisition of Time Warner.
Back at the Redstone family’s $40 billion media empire, Shari has been gaining faith in Viacom acting CEO Bob Bakish, who has been outlining a plan to the board to let him continue to grow the company, sources said.
Viacom had certainly been making moves that did not jibe with an upcoming merger.
Bakish acquired Argentine broadcaster Telefe — a move which irked Moonves, according to one source. Bakish also held discussions about a possible acquisition of a stake in Vice — as did CBS, sources confirmed to The Post.
“She [Shari Redstone] quickly developed confidence in Bob Bakish and has spoken of him in increasingly enthusiastic terms,” said a source close to the company.
The two sides had been making zero progress in figuring out whether any premium should be paid to Viacom shareholders, with CBS arguing that a merger premium was already baked into the Viacom share price.
With the merger now officially off, the two sides will be under huge pressure to demonstrate growth independently.