Philippe Dauman, the former Viacom CEO who is still non-executive chairman of the board, has effectively left the conglomerate, waiving a deal where he would present an offer from Dalian Wanda Group to purchase a 49% stake in Paramount Pictures. At the same time, the Viacom board could be facing a potential legal standoff with the top executive at the film studio.
Sumner Redstone’s granddaughter Keryn Redstone did not participate in Viacom’s boardroom settlement last week, and would like an opportunity to weigh in, according to court papers filed Monday morning.
Media mogul Sumner Redstone’s boardroom war for control of Viacom Inc. has ended in victory with the resignation of Chief Executive Philippe Dauman and the installation of new members to the company’s board. Viacom’s board late Thursday elected Thomas Dooley as CEO.
With key court dates approaching, negotiations to bring an end to the bitter struggle at the top of Viacom have taken on new urgency in the past week, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Talks have accelerated to end the bitter boardroom dispute between Sumner and Shari Redstone and Viacom’s top officers, with CEO Philippe Dauman expected to leave with a generous exit package, according to three people close to the situation.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and the media conglomerate’s owners — Sumner and Shari Redstone — have restarted negotiations aimed at ending a months-long feud over who will control large pieces of the Redstones’ $43 billion media empire.
Exclusives
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman appears to have won a partial victory in his effort to remain a central player in Sumner Redstone’s media empire. A Massachusetts judge has decided to take a case by Dauman and Viacom director George Abrams challenging Redstone’s ability to restructure his family trust and the board of his National Amusements, which owns 80% of the votes at Viacom and CBS. But the court did not agree with Dauman’s request to order an immediate examination of the 93-year-old.
Moves for more Star Trek couldn’t come at a better time for CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves and Viacom leader Philippe Dauman. Moonves is attempting to position the CBS All Access OTT service as an attractive add-on for cord-cutters or -nevers with a Netflix or Amazon subscription, and a brand with a devoted fan base like Star Trek could help the recruitment effort.
Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman and COO Thomas Dooley have reserved their legal right to resign “with good reason” in a move to protect tens of millions of dollars in potential severance pay. According to regulatory filings made public on Monday, Dauman and Dooley sent letters reserving the right to resign if a judge issues a final order approving Sumner Redstone’s action last month to remove Dauman and four other directors from Viacom’s board.
Viacom Inc.’s plan to sell a stake in its historic Hollywood movie studio, Paramount Pictures, suffered another setback Friday when the Redstone family publicly reaffirmed its opposition. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman has reportedly been negotiating with Chinese entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group over the studio.
Lawyers for besieged Viacom boss Philippe Dauman have begun settlement talks with entrenched foes — Shari Redstone and her 93-year-old founder father, Sumner — to try to end the nonstop litigation over who’s running the company.
The battle over Sumner Redstone’s $40 billion Viacom empire resumed arguments at a Massachusetts courthouse on Thursday. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, argued that Redstone, 93 and in failing health, was mentally incapacitated and had been unduly influenced by his daughter Shari Redstone. Redstone’s side argued that their client had the mental capacity to make decisions regarding his entertainment conglomerate, which includes Viacom and CBS.
Viacom and its CEO Philippe Dauman asked two courts today to order an immediate exam of controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone to determine whether the 93-year-old is competent to run his media empire. “The necessity of an immediate mental examination cannot be overstated,” Dauman’s lawyers told the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court.
Sumner Redstone moved on Thursday to boot Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman from the company’s board of directors, a harbinger of even more dramatic change. Here are 10 candidates for his successor.
Sumner Redstone-controlled National Amusements just dropped the big one: It says it has replaced five of Viacom’s directors, including CEO Philippe Dauman. The company has said that it would challenge such a decision at the Chancery Court in Delaware, where Viacom is incorporated.
Former Viacom chief Tom Freston is adding to the chorus of critics calling for Philippe Dauman to be replaced as chairman-CEO of Viacom. Preston gave a lengthy interview Wednesday to CNBC in which he didn’t hold back on his assessment of the state of the company he helped build during his more than 25 years at MTV Networks.
Viacom’s controlling shareholder said Monday it amended the company’s bylaws to require unanimous board approval for any full or partial sale of movie studio Paramount Pictures.
In court papers, Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams have asked the judge to order an immediate medical evaluation of Sumner Redstone. They also ask for a quick trial, arguing that Redstone is suffering from “overwhelming physical ailments,” is unable to speak, stand, walk, eat, write or read, and has a progressive neurological disease characterized by dementia.
Amid growing evidence that Sumner Redstone is planning sweeping changes at Viacom, speculation in the industry has turned to who might be recruited as the successor to CEO Philippe Dauman. Much of the focus, sources say, is centering on Tom Freston, the former MTV Networks boss and Viacom CEO who was ousted by Redstone in 2006 and replaced by Dauman. Judy McGrath, Freston’s former top lieutenant at MTV Networks, has also been mentioned as a possibility.
The April-to-June period looks to be a busy one for Viacom. The company expects to announce its strategic partner for Paramount in the second quarter, as well as a resolution of its widely watched carriage negotiations with Dish Network, CEO Philippe Dauman told investors today at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference.
The Viacom board today named CEO Philippe Dauman executive chairman, replacing Sumner Redstone who has become chairman emeritus — the same role he has at CBS following a change announced yesterday. Redstone endorsed the decision; his daughter, Shari , was the only member of the board to vote “no.” The board offered her the job of non-executive vice chair, which she declined. She’ll remain non-executive vice chair.
The 61-year-old executive has spent the last week getting torched by an activist calling for his ouster and a shareholder lawsuit saying he and the rest of the Viacom board put loyalty to Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone ahead of their fiduciary duties. And if that’s not enough to put Dauman on edge, now the CEO may be forced to duke it out with Shari Redstone, daughter of the 92-year-old company founder, and Charlie Ergen’s Dish TV.
The embattled media giant that owns MTV, Comedy Central and other popular brands, got hit with a double whammy on Tuesday — a shareholder lawsuit accusing the board of failing its fiduciary duties and a highly critical activist investor presentation.
Viacom and CBS are not getting back together. “We have no intention of buying CBS or buying any other big corporations out there,” Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told investors on Monday. “We are not going to be a consolidator.”
Viacom shares jumped 1.8% on Thursday after the media giant announced a cost-saving restructuring that cut its three operating units to two. But the moves left some observers wondering if it was orchestrated by Philippe Dauman in his role as CEO or as chief estate planner for controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone.
Faced with ratings and advertising declines, the chief executive of Viacom criticized the television research firm Nielsen on Thursday for failing to keep pace with the way people watch TV. Philippe Dauman said that a large portion of the viewing of Viacom networks occurs through mobile apps and other platforms that Nielsen does not include.
Leslie Moonves, Philippe Dauman, Robert Iger, David Zaslav,.Jeffrey Bewkes and Brian Roberts make the annual list.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman just teased the announcement which he says will be coming “shortly.” The studio’s initiative will be “very small,” beginning with “a project based on one of our film properties,” he said at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet and Telecom conference.
Viacom Inc.’s Philippe Dauman criticized Cablevision Corp. today for filing an “ill-advised and frivolous” antitrust lawsuit against the media company, in a dispute he said would just turn into a waste of legal fees.
Smaller bonuses led to compensation decreases in fiscal 2012 for the top executives at Viacom Inc., who traditionally have been among the nation’s most richly paid. CEO Philippe Dauman took home $33.5 million in the year that ended Sept. 30, down 22% from the previous year. His No. 2, COO Tom Dooley, saw a 23% drop to $26.3 million. Compensation for Chairman Sumner Redstone, who holds the same title at CBS Corp., dropped 3% to $20.4 million.
Robert Freedman claims that Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, CEO Philippe Dauman and COO Thomas Dooley were overpaid $36.6 million and the shareholder is taking the trio to court to get the money back.
The head of the Viacom division since 2004 will not be replaced. The execs in charge of MTV’s operating units will now report to Viacom President-CEO Philippe Dauman.
TheWrap’s annual survey of mogul paystubs found that the same executives who made a big show of cutting their paychecks during tough times are now enjoying sizable pay increases.
