Eager buyers hoping for early Sumner’s end to Viacom reign

Wall Street isn't waiting for 91-year-old Sumner Redstone to hand the reins of Viacom and CBS to a successor.

After the media mogul sounded feeble on a Nov. 13 earnings call, media bankers started pitching potential acquirers on how to go about the complicated business of buying all or parts of the $60 billion entertainment empire controlled by an irrevocable trust, The Post has learned.

"The buzzards are buzzing about the opportunity to look at CBS, the trust and Viacom," said one top media executive who's heard a flurry of pitches from bankers in recent weeks.

One bank pitched the possible sale of CBS and Viacom assets as the next big transformative deal to shake up the media business, a second media executive said.

Sumner RedstonePhoto: Reuters

"They're talking to every company — for bankers this is the Holy Grail," the executive said.

John Malone's Liberty Media, phone giants AT&T and Verizon, big media conglomerates — including 21st Century Fox, Disney and Time Warner — and Asia's SoftBank and Alibaba, among others, have all expressed an interest in enlarging their assets.

Redstone, chairman of Viacom and executive chairman of CBS, is the controlling shareholder of both publicly traded companies.

Viacom's assets include choice cable networks Nickelodeon and MTV and movie studio Paramount, while CBS owns broadcast TV and radio networks, Showtime and a publishing company.

Although bankers are mobilizing for a change in control, their road map is less clear. Both Viacom and CBS are controlled by Redstone's closely held theater chain National Amusements Inc. Redstone owns 80 percent of NAI, while daughter Shari Redstone holds the balance.

Upon his death, Redstone's NAI stake will be held by a trust. The trustees include Shari, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and fellow Viacom director George Abrams.

The person who will succeed Redstone as chairman — and ultimately control the trust — has changed over the years depending on who's in the mogul's good graces.

Shari was seen as the heir apparent until a falling out several years ago. Dauman then appeared to be in the lead but now, sources said, that's no longer the case either.

Viacom CEO Philippe DaumanPhoto: REUTERS

"There's a bunch of stuff going on. They're redoing the trust," said one source.

With succession plans in flux, bankers are pitching the idea of first approaching the trustees and potentially acquiring NAI before making a play for CBS or Viacom.

The seemingly labored voice of Redstone during the Nov. 13 Viacom call has fueled rumors that the Boston-born billionaire is in ill health.

While Redstone has been dogged by rumors of declining health for years, they have often been wildly exaggerated. To friends and close associates, Redstone has often joked that he felt himself to be "immortal," said sources.

"Sumner Redstone is as sharp as a tack and he's looking forward to watching the Patriots beat the Chargers on Sunday," said a Viacom spokesman.

At the same time, there has been a series of urgent meetings at CBS over the past few weeks, said one source close to the company.

Investment fund Gamco, run by Mario Gabelli, owns 3.42 million super-voting, or Class A, Viacom shares.

As part of the recent frenzy surrounding the media giant, Gabelli's been fielding inquiries about his shares.

"Several have inquired why we own so much voting stock," Gabelli said. "I expect to get a premium."

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