Today’s SEC filing says that, although the National Amusements proposal calls for unanimous board approval, “other statements purportedly made by Sumner Redstone and his representatives have indicated that there is no interest in selling any interest in Paramount”.
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“War broke out across Mr. Redstone’s $40 billion media empire last month”, The New York Times reports.
Ms. Redstone is not expected to grab the chairman position at Viacom for herself; she turned it down when her father ceded the role in February.
Dauman and Abrams have filed suit to try to block their dismissal from the trust and Viacom’s independent board members indicated last week that they are preparing for a legal fight to keep their seats.
The move from National Amusements, controlled by Redstone, came on Monday, meaning Viacom waited to almost the deadline before filing with the SEC.
The Viacom chief has been criticised for taking home huge cheques while the business has since its share price plummet following poor performance at Paramount, and ratings dips at cable channels such as MTV. The film studio has some pretty well known franchises, such as Mission Impossible and Transformers, but they are still lacking in successful franchises. In October 2015, Long time caretaker and partner, Manuela Herzer, was booted from Redstone’s home. Earlier this week, attorneys for Dauman and Abrams asked the court to approve the immediate medical evaluation of Sumner Redstone, implying he was near death. A psychiatrist hired by Herzer, Dr. Stephen Read, who described Redstone as suffering from “mild to severe dementia”.
Viacom and CBS were split into separate companies in 2006.
Shari Redstone ultimately would like to recombine CBS and Viacom into one media company – should CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves agree to the plan, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified discussing the internal conversations. Their exit has been seen as a precursor to shaking up the Viacom board and the possible removal of Dauman from the company.
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A MA judge is now considering Dauman’s motion to speed up discovery and expedite the trial related to his lawsuit.
