Shares of CBS and Viacom have continued to fall recently as investors remained concerned that Sumner Redstone will be forced to sell some of his shares in order to refinance his $1.6 billion in debt. In a self-fulfilling spiral, the market worries that “further weakness would undermine Mr. Redstone’s talks with lenders and force him to sell stock in the two companies he controls.” The WSJ adds: “Redstone is expected to have to sell some assets to get bankers to agree to a restructuring. Advisers are combing through the family’s holdings to assess their value and ease of sale, according to people familiar with the situation. But the two sides are exploring a longer timetable to sell any assets in an effort to avoid fire-sale valuations, the people said.”
Redstone said once again in a statement that his holdings exceed his debts and he has no plans to sell shares in either CBS or Viacom. Despite a big rally yesterday, CBS shares have fallen another 21 percent this weekend. Yesterday the board approved the continuation of their 27 cent per share dividend (which represents an annualized yield of close to 17 percent.)
WSJ