Reunited? CBS and Viacom Are Talking About It<br />In simultaneously released statements, CBS and Viacom — which were part of the same company from 2000 to 2006 — said<br />that their boards had created special committees of independent directors to “evaluate a potential combination.” Yet the companies cautioned that there could be “no assurance that this process will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur.”<br />In rekindling the possibility, though, both companies are acknowledging<br />that they must get bigger to remain competitive in a media industry that now prioritizes scale.<br />“Investors believe that scale equals clout and clout equals pricing power with both suppliers and customers.”<br />The ailing 94-year-old media mogul Sumner M. Redstone took control of Viacom in 1987,<br />through National Amusements, the private theater chain started by his father.<br />Thursday’s development echoes moves made by the companies in September 2016, after Mr. Redstone and his daughter, Shari Redstone, demanded the reunification of CBS and Viacom following a tumultuous year<br />that led to the ouster of Viacom’s chief executive, Philippe P. Dauman.<br />A new chapter opened Thursday in the drama over the future of the $37 billion Redstone media empire, with CBS Corporation<br />and Viacom announcing plans to explore a reunion, reigniting a plan that fizzled a little more than a year ago.<br />“While it never was the case that you need scale to have a successful business, it becomes a more credible proposition to investors to say<br />that you need it,” said Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research.
