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

Jim Cramer provides 5 key reasons against the purchase and use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple.

Becky Berkman

2017-11-23 10:42:00 Thursday ET

Jim Cramer provides 5 key reasons against the purchase and use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple.

As the TV host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer provides 5 key reasons against the purchase and use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. First, no one knows the ano

+See More

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now protects the European circular economy and green growth from 2020 to 2050.

Dan Rochefort

2019-12-22 08:30:00 Sunday ET

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now protects the European circular economy and green growth from 2020 to 2050.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now protects the European circular economy and green growth from 2020 to 2050. The new circular economy r

+See More

Several feasible near-term reforms can substantially narrow the scope for global tax avoidance by closing information loopholes.

Apple Boston

2023-03-14 16:43:00 Tuesday ET

Several feasible near-term reforms can substantially narrow the scope for global tax avoidance by closing information loopholes.

Several feasible near-term reforms can substantially narrow the scope for global tax avoidance by closing information loopholes. Thomas Pogge and Krishen

+See More

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fundamental analysis of Amazon (U.S. stock symbol: $AMZN).

Dan Rochefort

2025-09-14 14:23:00 Sunday ET

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fundamental analysis of Amazon (U.S. stock symbol: $AMZN).

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fund

+See More

Chinese Belt-and-Road funds large international infrastructure investment projects primarily in East Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, and Italy.

Fiona Sydney

2019-04-15 08:37:00 Monday ET

Chinese Belt-and-Road funds large international infrastructure investment projects primarily in East Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, and Italy.

Chinese Belt-and-Road funds large international infrastructure investment projects primarily in East Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, and Italy. Chinese Be

+See More

Elon Musk envisions a bold fantastic future with his professional trifecta of lean enterprises SolarCity, SpaceX, and Tesla.

Joseph Corr

2020-04-10 11:33:00 Friday ET

Elon Musk envisions a bold fantastic future with his professional trifecta of lean enterprises SolarCity, SpaceX, and Tesla.

Elon Musk envisions a bold fantastic future with his professional trifecta of lean startup enterprises SolarCity, SpaceX, and Tesla. Ashlee Vance (2015)

+See More