Paramount to Receive $167.5M to Settle Shareholder Suit Tied to CBS-Viacom Merger

Alex Weprin
·1 min read

Another lawsuit connected to the 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom has been settled.

According to a securities filing Friday, the company will be paid $167.5 million to settle the suit. It is separate from another settlement revealed in March, in which former Viacom shareholders received $122.5 million from the company.

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In the latest settlement, the CBS shareholders alleged that the company overpaid for Viacom so that Shari Redstone (the controlling shareholder of both companies) could consolidate her family’s media empire.

It also alleged “waste and unjust enrichment in connection with certain aspects of Mr. Ianniello’s compensation awards.” Joe Ianniello was the former CEO of CBS (he took over after Les Moonves’ exit), and left shortly after the Viacom-CBS merger was completed. According to filings, Ianniello received an exit package valued at more than $125 million.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled in January 2021 that the litigation could proceed after suggesting that there was evidence that CBS directors wanted to “appease” Redstone in her pursuit of Viacom, and that she had a “dogged determination to make this deal happen one way or the other.”

It was not immediately clear what party was paying the settlement to Paramount (it was a shareholder derivatives suit, brought by shareholders against directors, officers or others who breach their fiduciary duties).

April 21, 2:35 pm Corrected headline and story to note that Paramount was the recipient of funds paid in the settlement.

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