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Network giants CBS and Viacom have agreed to merge in an all-stock deal, bringing together the Redstone’s family entertainment holdings, following a string of legal battles.
The new merger deal is worth $30 billion and was set up to compete with the rise of digital streaming companies. The new name of the combined companies is ViacomCBS, and will be overseen by Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish. Some of the brands that will join forces with the merger are CBS and Showtime with Viacom’s Paramount television and movie studios, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV.
CBS also owns the book publisher Simon & Schuster. Current CBS CEO Joe Ianiello is to oversee the former CBS properties under Bakish, WBUR.com reports. “Our unique ability to produce premium and polar content for global audiences at scale – for our platforms and for our partners around the world – will enable us to maximize our business for today, while positioning us to lead for tomorrow,” Bakish said in a statement.
This deal works out perfectly for the new company’s chairman, #ShariRedstone, who is over the family’s holding company, National Amusements, along with her father, Sumner Redstone. Viacom and CBS are both publicly traded and are controlled by the family through National Amusements.
