CBS CBS Corp

By Benjamin Mullin and Cara Lombardo 

CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. reached an agreement in principle to merge, according to people familiar with the situation, a deal the media companies hope will put them on stronger footing to compete with larger rivals in a business buffeted by cable TV cord-cutting and increasingly dominated by streaming.

The all-stock deal, if completed, will reunite the media empire of mogul Sumner Redstone, who had split up CBS and Viacom in 2006. It will create a major entertainment player valued at roughly $30 billion, combining Viacom properties such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the Paramount film and TV studio with CBS's broadcast network and Showtime premium network.

The companies are betting now that merging back together will help them battle titans like Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp., AT&T Inc. and Netflix Inc. and remain relevant as consumers sign up for streaming video services and pay TV distributors look to cut the fees they pay to programmers.

Shari Redstone, Mr. Redstone's daughter and vice chairman of both companies, is expected to become chairman of the board of the combined company, people close to the discussions said. The deal would cement Ms. Redstone's status as a powerful media mogul.

She controls both CBS and Viacom along with her father, through their family holding company National Amusements Inc.

Bob Bakish, currently the chief executive of Viacom, would become CEO of the combined entity, while CBS Acting Chief Executive Joe Ianniello would run CBS-branded assets, the people said.

The deal values Viacom slightly below its market capitalization, which was around $12 billion on Aug 9. It has been the weaker of the two media companies over the past several years, and its stock had risen this year, in part on speculation of a CBS deal.

Write to Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com and Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2019 14:13 ET (18:13 GMT)

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