CBS and its special committee of independent directors have decided to sue the Redstone controlling shareholders.

Daisy Harvey

2018-05-09 08:31:00 Wed ET

CBS and its special committee of independent directors have decided to sue the Redstone controlling shareholders because these directors might have breached their fiduciary duties. This breach can cause irreparable harm since the Redstone controlling shareholders who own 79% of CBS equity stakes have indicated a clear intention to force a merger of CBS and Viacom. This prospective merger may not serve the best interests of CBS's minority shareholders who own the residual 21% equity stakes.

CBS's independent directors propose to issue a stock dividend of voting shares to all the minority shareholders. This issuance would dilute the voting power of the Redstone controlling shareholders from 79% to about 17% but would not dilute the economic ownership interests of any CBS shareholders. This special dividend is permissible under CBS's corporate charter for its controlling shareholders and directors to honor their fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, and good faith.

Alternatively, the Redstone controlling shareholders might go nuclear by voting out the special committee of independent directors instantly by written consent with short shareholder notice. This coup attempt would allow the Redstone controlling shareholders to replace the board with their close friends who would then approve the CBS-Viacom merger plan. On balance, this complex and thorny issue shines fresh light on whether the current corporate governance regime should enhance independent directorship with greater voting power.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators hold constructive phone talks after Presidents Trump and Xi exchange reconciliatory gestures at the G20 summit.

Joseph Corr

2019-08-04 08:26:00 Sunday ET

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators hold constructive phone talks after Presidents Trump and Xi exchange reconciliatory gestures at the G20 summit.

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators hold constructive phone talks after Presidents Trump and Xi exchange reconciliatory gestures at the G20 summit in Japan.

+See More

Management consultants can build sustainable trust-driven client relations through the accelerant curve of business value creation.

Monica McNeil

2020-11-17 08:27:00 Tuesday ET

Management consultants can build sustainable trust-driven client relations through the accelerant curve of business value creation.

Management consultants can build sustainable trust-driven client relations through the accelerant curve of business value creation. Alan Weiss (2016)

+See More

Daniel Goleman explains why emotional intelligence is more important than high IQ for our success, virtue, and happiness in life.

Olivia London

2025-06-21 10:25:00 Saturday ET

Daniel Goleman explains why emotional intelligence is more important than high IQ for our success, virtue, and happiness in life.

Former New York Times science author and Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman explains why emotional intelligence can serve as a more important critical succ

+See More

American parents often worry about money and upward mobility for their children.

Becky Berkman

2019-01-03 10:38:00 Thursday ET

American parents often worry about money and upward mobility for their children.

American parents often worry about money and upward mobility for their children. A recent New York Times survey suggests that nowadays American parents spen

+See More

Apple upstream semiconductor chipmaker TSMC boosts capital expenditures to $15 billion with almost 10% revenue growth by December 2019.

John Fourier

2019-11-11 09:36:00 Monday ET

Apple upstream semiconductor chipmaker TSMC boosts capital expenditures to $15 billion with almost 10% revenue growth by December 2019.

Apple upstream semiconductor chipmaker TSMC boosts capital expenditures to $15 billion with almost 10% revenue growth by December 2019. Due to high global d

+See More

Federal Reserve publishes its inaugural flagship financial stability report.

Peter Prince

2018-12-05 09:38:00 Wednesday ET

Federal Reserve publishes its inaugural flagship financial stability report.

Federal Reserve publishes its inaugural flagship financial stability report. Fed Chair Jerome Powell applauds both low inflation (2%) and low unemployment (

+See More