Viacom, Inc. Add to portfolio

The two companies came together once again to seal the deal on Wednesday, four months after the boards of both parties agreed to an all stock-swap transaction. This new deal sees Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and subsequent cable channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET, come together with CBS’ broadcast network, Showtime, 28 O&O TV stations, CBS All Access, as well as Simon & Schuster. The new combined company is led by Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who told Variety, "I can’t wait to get on with this. ViacomCBS is expected to generate annual revenue of approximately $28 billion and it has to its name the rights to 140,0000 episodes of TV and more than 3,600 movies, which equates to about 22% of all television content in the U.S. "We have an extraordinary opportunity to create value for a whole range of constituencies," Bakish said.

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Viacom and CBS Corp. are again joining forces to bolster their positions in a rapidly changing industry that's pushing other media companies to bulk up. ViacomCBS Chairman Shari Redstone and ViacomCBS President and CEO Bob Bakish are expected to celebrate the new corporate combination Thursday morning with a ceremonial ringing of the opening bell at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York's Times Square. ViacomCBS, valued at about $30 billion when the merger was announced in August, is just the latest in a string of blockbuster media marriages. Both CBS Corp. and Viacom have long been controlled by Sumner Redstone, 96, and more recently his daughter, Shari, 65, through their family's privately owned company, National Amusements, which operates movie theaters in the U.S., U.K. and Latin America.

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"This is a historic moment that brings together two iconic companies to form one of the world’s most important content producers and providers," said Bob Bakish, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS. "Through the combination of CBS’s and Viacom’s complementary assets, capabilities and talented teams, ViacomCBS will create and deliver premium content for its own platforms and for others, while providing innovative solutions for advertisers and distributors globally. I am excited about the opportunity we have to serve our audiences, creative and commercial partners, and employees, while generating significant long-term value for our shareholders." ViacomCBS Class A and Class B shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on December 5, 2019 under the ticker symbols "VIACA" and "VIAC", respectively. As previously announced, as a result of the merger, each Viacom Class A share and Viacom Class B share converted into 0.59625 of a Class A share and Class B share of ViacomCBS, respectively. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: following the recently completed merger, the CBS and Viacom businesses may not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time consuming or costly than expected and may not achieve anticipated synergies; operating costs, customer loss and business disruption, including difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers, suppliers or vendors may be greater than anticipated as a result of the merger; the potential impact of unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, expenses or failure to achieve anticipated revenues, costs savings, earnings and synergies from the merger on our financial condition and the management, expansion and growth of our business; litigation related to the merger; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the merger; the ability to retain and hire key personnel and the uncertainties associated with leadership changes; the risk that the market price for ViacomCBS common stock may be affected by the consummation of the merger and factors different from those that have historically affected CBS and Viacom common stock; the anticipated tax treatment of the merger may not be obtained; risks associated with third-party contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the merger; and other risks, uncertainties and factors described in our news releases and filings and Viacom’s and CBS’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Viacom’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019, CBS’ Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and their respective reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K subsequent to the filing of their annual reports on Form 10-K.

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The long-awaited merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom will officially close late Wednesday, concluding media mogul Shari Redstone’s three-year battle to reunite the two companies. ViacomCBS also controls several streaming services, including CBS All Access and Pluto TV, and jointly operates The CW networks with the AT&T-owned WarnerMedia. Although the merger put several notable properties under one corporate roof, Wall Street hasn’t taken kindly to the deal. Though last month ViacomCBS appointed several corporate executives, many of whom were Viacom veterans, and recently announced new projects from Trevor Noah and Tyler Perry Studios, questions still remain about the combined entity’s long-term strategy. How is it going to operate as a consolidated entity? Regardless, some senior positions have been secured at a hefty price tag: CBS acting CEO Joseph Ianiello will collect $100 million in severance, despite receiving a new multi-million contract to remain at CBS, according to a Bloomberg report. As for the company’s streaming properties, CBS All Access is home to several “Star Trek” series, including the upcoming “Star Trek: Picard,” and already renewed a second season of its well-received “The Twilight Zone” reboot.

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CBS (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today jointly announced that Bob Bakish, current President and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, and appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of ViacomCBS, will participate in a question and answer session during the UBS Global TMT Conference in New York, NY on Monday, December 9, 2019 at 12:15 p.m. A live webcast of the session will be available to the general public through a link on the Investors homepages of CBS’s website (investors.cbscorporation.com) and Viacom’s website (ir.viacom.com). CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the pending merger may not be completed on anticipated terms and timing, (ii) a condition to closing of the pending merger may not be satisfied, (iii) the anticipated tax treatment of the pending merger may not be obtained, (iv) the potential impact of unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, costs, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition and losses on the future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined business after the consummation of the pending merger, (v) litigation relating to the pending merger against CBS, Viacom or their respective directors, (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the pending merger, (vii) any negative effects of the announcement, pendency or consummation of the pending merger on the market price of CBS’ or Viacom’s common stock and on CBS’ or Viacom’s operating results, (viii) risks associated with third party contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the pending merger, (ix) the risks and costs associated with the integration of, and the ability of CBS and Viacom to integrate, the businesses successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies, (x) the risk that disruptions from the pending merger will harm CBS’ or Viacom’s business, including current plans and operations, (xi) the ability of CBS or Viacom to retain and hire key personnel and uncertainties arising from leadership changes, (xii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments, (xiii) the other risks described in CBS’ and Viacom’s most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and (xiv) management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors.

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— The parent of Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and other restaurant chains reported quarterly profit of $1.80 per share, 5 cents a share above estimates. Boeing‘s vice president for commercial plane marketing, Randy Tinseth, told in London on Thursday that he expected the Federal Aviation Administration to certify updates to the jet‘s flight control software, on board displays, flight manual, and training. — Levi Strauss after the jeans maker‘s initial public offering priced at $17 per share, above the expected range of $14 to $16. Micron‘s revenue forecast for the current quarter was below estimates, however, and the company is also trimming its capital expenditures as well as idling some production lines amid what it calls a challenging market environment.

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Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Viacom from $27.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The firm has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 5.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.35. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viacom will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 469,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,287,000 after acquiring an additional 193,467 shares during the last quarter.

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Analysts expect Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) to report $1.81 EPS on December, 3 before the open.They anticipate $0.03 EPS change or 1.69 % from last quarter’s $1.78 EPS. BMO’s profit would be $1.16 billion giving it 10.55 P/E if the $1.81 EPS is correct. After having $1.79 EPS previously, Bank of Montreal’s analysts see 1.12 % EPS growth. More notable recent Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) news were published by: Prnewswire.com which released: “MicroSectors Launches 1x FANG+ Technology Exchange Traded Product on NYSE Arca – PRNewswire” on November 13, 2019, also Fool.ca with their article: “2 Tried-and-True Stocks to Buy for a Looming Bear Market – The Motley Fool Canada” published on November 07, 2019, Benzinga.com published: “Bank of Montreal Announces Results of Conversion Privilege of Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Class B Preferred Shares, Series 31 – Benzinga” on November 14, 2019.

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(Reuters) - A Delaware judge on Monday ordered broadcaster CBS Corp to turn over records regarding its plan to reunite with Viacom Inc to a shareholder who wants to investigate if the deal unfairly benefits Shari Redstone, who controls both companies. The deal is scheduled to close on Dec. 4, combining CBS television network, CBS News, Showtime cable networks with MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studios. The judge, Joseph Slights of Delaware's Court of Chancery, ordered CBS to turn over materials the CBS board discussed when considering the merger with Viacom, which was split from CBS 13 years ago. The company was also ordered to provide documents regarding the nomination and appointment of board members to the special committee that approved the merger earlier this year, as well as some communications between Redstone and the board.

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(Reuters) - A Delaware judge on Monday ordered broadcaster CBS Corp to turn over records regarding its plan to reunite with Viacom Inc to a shareholder who wants to investigate if the deal unfairly benefits Shari Redstone, who controls both companies. The deal is scheduled to close on Dec. 4, combining CBS television network, CBS News, Showtime cable networks with MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studios. The judge, Joseph Slights of Delaware's Court of Chancery, ordered CBS to turn over materials the CBS board discussed when considering the merger with Viacom, which was split from CBS 13 years ago. The company was also ordered to provide documents regarding the nomination and appointment of board members to the special committee that approved the merger earlier this year, as well as some communications between Redstone and the board.

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