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

The recent British pound depreciation is a big Brexit barometer.

Apple Boston

2019-08-20 07:33:00 Tuesday ET

The recent British pound depreciation is a big Brexit barometer.

The recent British pound depreciation is a big Brexit barometer. Britain appoints former London mayor and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as the prime minis

+See More

Ray Fair applies his macroeconometric model to study the central features of the U.S. macroeconomy such as price stability and full employment in the dual mandate.

Charlene Vos

2023-07-14 10:32:00 Friday ET

Ray Fair applies his macroeconometric model to study the central features of the U.S. macroeconomy such as price stability and full employment in the dual mandate.

Ray Fair applies his macroeconometric model to study the central features of the U.S. macroeconomy such as price stability and full employment in the dual m

+See More

The Federal Reserve proposes softening the Volcker rule that prevents banks from placing risky bets on securities with deposit finance.

James Campbell

2018-05-27 08:33:00 Sunday ET

The Federal Reserve proposes softening the Volcker rule that prevents banks from placing risky bets on securities with deposit finance.

The Federal Reserve proposes softening the Volcker rule that prevents banks from placing risky bets on securities with deposit finance. As part of the po

+See More

Product market competition and online ecommerce help constrain money supply growth with low inflation.

Peter Prince

2019-09-25 15:33:00 Wednesday ET

Product market competition and online ecommerce help constrain money supply growth with low inflation.

Product market competition and online e-commerce help constrain money supply growth with low inflation. Key e-commerce retailers such as Amazon, Alibaba, an

+See More

Warren Buffett shares his key insights into life, success, money, and interpersonal communication.

Rose Prince

2018-09-09 13:42:00 Sunday ET

Warren Buffett shares his key insights into life, success, money, and interpersonal communication.

Warren Buffett shares his key insights into life, success, money, and interpersonal communication. Institutional money managers and retail investors ca

+See More

Corporate ownership governance theory and practice

Monica McNeil

2022-04-25 10:34:00 Monday ET

Corporate ownership governance theory and practice

Corporate ownership governance theory and practice  The genesis of modern corporate governance and ownership studies traces back to the seminal work

+See More