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 CBS Corporation logo before the merger | |
 Viacom logo before the merger | |
.svg) ViacomCBS logo used from the merger until 2020 when the colors were inverted | |
| Initiator | CBS Corporation |
|---|---|
| Target | Viacom |
| Type | Merger |
| Cost | US$15.4 million |
| Initiated | August 13, 2019 |
| Completed | December 4, 2019 |
| Resulting entity | ViacomCBS (nowParamount Global) |
The2019 merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom was announced on August 13, 2019, and was completed on December 4, 2019. Themerger of equals reunitedCBS Corporation andViacom into a single company known as ViacomCBS (today known asParamount Global)after their separation fromthe first incarnation of Viacom on December 31, 2005. Both companies were owned by the theater companyNational Amusements, which remains the owner of the merged entity.
 | |
| 1886 | Westinghouse Electric Corporation is founded as Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company |
|---|---|
| 1912 | Famous Players Film Company is founded |
| 1913 | Lasky Feature Play Company is founded |
| 1914 | Paramount Pictures is founded |
| 1916 | Famous Players and Lasky merge asFamous Players–Lasky and acquire Paramount |
| 1927 | Famous Players–Lasky renamed to Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation;CBS is founded with investment fromColumbia Records |
| 1929 | Paramount acquires 49% of CBS |
| 1930 | Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation renamed to Paramount Publix Corporation |
| 1932 | Paramount sells back its shares of CBS |
| 1934 | Gulf+Western is founded as the Michigan Bumper Corporation |
| 1935 | Paramount Publix Corporation renamed to Paramount Pictures |
| 1936 | National Amusements is founded as Northeast Theater Corporation |
| 1938 | CBS acquires Columbia Records |
| 1950 | Desilu is founded and CBS distributes its television programs |
| 1952 | CBS creates the CBS Television Film Sales division |
| 1958 | CBS Television Film Sales renamed to CBS Films |
| 1966 | Gulf+Western acquires Paramount |
| 1967 | Gulf+Western acquires Desilu and renames itParamount Television (nowCBS Studios) |
| 1968 | CBS Films renamed to CBS Enterprises |
| 1970 | CBS Enterprises renamed toViacom |
| 1971 | Viacom is spun off from CBS |
| 1979 | Nickelodeon was launched as the first children's cable channel |
| 1987 | National Amusements acquires Viacom |
| 1988 | CBS sells Columbia Records toSony |
| 1989 | Gulf+Western renamed toParamount Communications |
| 1994 | Viacom acquires Paramount Communications |
| 1995 | Westinghouse acquires CBS |
| 1997 | Westinghouse renamed toCBS Corporation |
| 2000 | Viacom acquiresUPN and CBS Corporation |
| 2005 | Viacom splits into secondCBS Corporation andViacom |
| 2006 | CBS Corporation shuts down UPN and replaces it withThe CW |
| 2017 | CBS Corporation sellsCBS Radio to Entercom (nowAudacy) |
| 2019 | CBS Corporation and Viacomre-merge as ViacomCBS |
| 2022 | ViacomCBS renamed toParamount Global |
| 2024 | Skydance Media and Paramount Globalagree to merge |
The first incarnation of Viacom was created in 1952 as the televisionsyndication division ofCBS; it was spun off in 1971. In 1999, Viacom acquired its former parent, then named CBS Corporation (formerlyWestinghouse Electric). On December 31, 2005, the first Viacom was spun off into two entities, the second incarnations ofCBS Corporation andViacom.
Efforts to re-merge the two conglomerates began on September 29, 2016, whenNational Amusements sent a letter to Viacom and CBS Corporation encouraging a re-merger of the two companies.[1] The proposal was later withdrawn on December 12 of that year.[2]
On January 12, 2018,CNBC reported that Viacom had re-entered talks to merge back into CBS Corporation, after the merger plan ofAT&T-Time Warner andDisney'sacquisition of most21st Century Fox assets were announced. Viacom and CBS Corporation also faced heavy competition from companies such asNetflix andAmazon.[3] Shortly afterward, it was reported that the combined company could be a suitor for acquiring the film studioLionsgate.[4] Viacom and Lionsgate were both interested in acquiringThe Weinstein Company (TWC).[5] Following theWeinstein effect, Viacom was listed as one of 22 potential buyers that were interested in acquiring TWC.[5] They lost the bid, and on March 1, it was announced thatMaria Contreras-Sweet would acquire all of TWC's assets for $500 million.[6][7]
On March 30, 2018, CBS Corporation made an all-stock offer slightly below Viacom's market value, insisting that its existing leadership, including long-time chairman and CEOLes Moonves, oversee the re-combined company. Viacom rejected the offer as too low, requesting a $2.8 billion increase and thatBob Bakish be maintained as president and COO under Moonves. These conflicts had resulted fromShari Redstone seeking more control over CBS Corporation and its leadership.[8][9]
Eventually, on May 14, 2018, CBS Corporation sued its and Viacom's parent company National Amusements and accused Redstone of abusing her voting power in the company andforcing a merger that was not supported by it or Viacom.[10][11] CBS Corporation also accused Redstone of discouragingVerizon Communications from acquiring it, which could have been beneficial to its shareholders.[12]
On May 23, 2018, Les Moonves explained that he considered the Viacom channels to be an "albatross," and while he favored more content forCBS All Access (now Paramount+), he believed that there were better deals for CBS Corporation than the Viacom deal, such asMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Lionsgate Films orSony Pictures. Moonves also considered Bakish a threat because he did not want an ally of Redstone as a board member of the combined company.[13]
On September 9, 2018, Les Moonves exited CBS Corporation following multiple accusations of sexual assault. National Amusements agreed to make no proposal of a CBS Corporation-Viacom merger for at least two years after the date of the settlement.[14]
On May 30, 2019, CNBC reported that CBS Corporation and Viacom would explore merger discussions in mid-June. CBS Corporation's board of directors was revamped with people who were open to merging; the re-merger was made possible with the resignation of Moonves, who had opposed all merger attempts. The talks had started following rumors of CBS Corporation acquiringStarz from Lionsgate.[15] Reports said that CBS Corporation and Viacom reportedly set August 8 as an informal deadline for reaching an agreement to recombine the two media companies.[16][17] CBS Corporation announced its plan to acquire Viacom as part of the re-merger deal for up to $15.4 billion.[18]
On August 2, 2019, it was reported that CBS Corporation and Viacom agreed to merge back into one entity. Both companies came to an agreement on the management team for the merger, with Bob Bakish serving as CEO of the combined company with president and acting CEO of CBS Corporation,Joseph Ianniello, overseeing CBS Corporation-branded assets.[19] On August 7, CBS Corporation and Viacom separately reported their quarterly earnings as the talks about the re-merger continued.[20][21]
On August 13, 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom officially announced their merger; the combined company was namedViacomCBS; Shari Redstone serves as the chairwoman of the new company.[22][23][24] Upon the merger agreement, Viacom and CBS Corporation jointly announced they expected the transaction to close by the end of 2019, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.[24] Such mergers require approval by theFederal Trade Commission (FTC).[24]
On October 28, 2019, the merger was approved by National Amusements, which then announced the deal would close in early December; the recombined company will trade its shares onNASDAQ under the symbols "VIAC" and "VIACA" after CBS Corporation delisted its shares on theNew York Stock Exchange (NYSE).[25][26] On November 25, 2019, Viacom and CBS Corporation announced that the merger would close on December 4, and its shares began to trading on NASDAQ on December 5.[27][28] The merger officially closed on December 4, 2019.[29]
CBS' plan to acquire Viacom for up to $15.4 billion could be announced Aug. 8, giving its controlling shareholder the ability to leverage IP like 'Star Trek' across film and TV to better compete with Disney, Netflix and the rest.