Sumner Redstone Trimmed Voting Stakes In Viacom, CBS

Media mogul Sumner Redstone's privately held firm, National Amusements Inc., trimmed its voting stakes in Viacom Inc. (VIA) and CBS Corp. (CBS) late last year, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Redstone, who controls both media conglomerates through his firm, converted voting shares in both companies to nonvoting shares in order to keep his voting power in each below 80%, according to a person familiar with the matter. Over the course of 2010, Redstone's percentage in both had crept up near that threshold as other holders of voting stocks had converted their stakes.

At Viacom, Redstone's firm reduced its voting power to 79.0% from 79.9%. At CBS, his voting power was reduced to just below 80% from 81.4%.

Those moves follow disclosures late last year that Redstone gave away to charities, family members and others nearly all of his personal nonvoting shares in CBS and Viacom over the course of 2010.

-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472; nat.worden@dowjones.com

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