Plan To Merge Viacom, CBS Called Off

A plan to re-merge media-entertainment giants Viacom and CBS a decade after their breakup was called off Monday by the controlling Redstone family.

"Over the past few months, after careful assessment and meetings with the leadership of both companies, we have concluded that this is not the right time to merge the companies," said a statement from tycoon Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone.

The plan announced in September had been seen as a way to reshape the media-entertainment empire created by the 93-year-old Sumner Redstone, who is in failing health and whose competence has been challenged.

The Redstone family issued the statement through its holding company National Amusements, which holds a majority of voting stock in both Viacom and CBS.

Earlier this year, some analysts said a combination could be a way to compete against rising media stars in a new landscape such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

One potential scenario envisioned by analysts would see CBS chairman and chief executive Les Moonves take over the combined firm.

The move was seen as a way to revive the fortunes of Viacom, which operates the Paramount studios in Hollywood and an array of cable TV channels, but which has been struggling to keep up with the changing environment.

But the Redstone family statement said they now believed the two firms should remain independent. 

"Following the management changes that the Viacom board put in place, we have been very impressed with the forward-looking thinking and strategic plan being pursued under (acting chief executive) Bob Bakish's leadership," the statement said.

"We know Viacom has tremendous assets that are currently undervalued, and we are confident that with this new strong management team, the value of these assets can be unleashed.  At the same time, CBS continues to perform exceptionally well under Les Moonves, and we have every reason to believe that momentum will continue on a stand-alone basis."
 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)