Viacom and CBS reunite in $12 billion deal, but challenges abound

Long known as the squabbling siblings of media, CBS Corp and Viacom Inc are poised to finally reunite after 13 years apart. The much-anticipated corporate union, which will be called ViacomCBS Inc. and be valued at about $25 billion, is set to conclude Dec 4 after the markets close. The Viacom name gets top billing even though CBS is more valuable. The merger culminates a three-year campaign by Shari Redstone — daughter of the ailing mogul Sumner Redstone — who out-maneuvered her father’s long-time lieutenants to merge the New York-based media companies. The all-stock transaction is worth nearly $12 billion, which was the market capitalization of Viacom, the media company that owns MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET and Paramount Pictures, the movie studio known for “Top Gun” and the “Transformers” franchises. The merger is latest in the wave of media consolidations. In 2018, AT&T acquired HBO, CNN, TBS and the Warner Bros. studio in an $85-billion deal. In March, Disney completed a $71.3-billion acquisition of much of Rupert Murdoch’s Hollywood holdings, including 20th Century Fox film and television studios.