Finance

CBS and Viacom formally announced an agreement to merge on Tuesday, putting back together the two divisions that had split at the beginning 2006. Viacom ceo Robert Bakish will lead the combined company, with CBS acting ceo Joe Ianniello remaining in charge of the CBS unit. CBS shareholders will wind up owning about 61 percent of the new company, with Viacom’s shares valued at about $11 billion. When the two were split in 2006, Viacom was supposed to be the fast-growing unit and CBS was supposed to control the “mature” assets, including Simon & Schuster. The release announcing the deal […]

In the Trump administration’s ever-changing policy on tariffs for goods imported from China, the United States Trade Representative announced on Tuesday a delay in imposing an additional 10 percent tariff on certain goods — including many electronics — until December 15. They also spared certain products entirely, “based on health, safety, national security and other factors.” “Children’s picture, drawing or coloring books” are on the list of goods that will not face additional tariffs until December 15 now, as are certain calendars (“printed on paper or paperboard in whole or in part by a lithographic process, not over 0.51 mm […]

Most publishers got what they wanted, for a change: Quad and LSC announced Tuesday morning that they have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement rather than wait on the trial scheduled for mid-November in the DOJ’s antitrust suit seeking to block the deal. “The parties have determined that the added delay, uncertainty and cost of legal challenges would have likely eroded a considerable amount of the expected benefits of the merger.” The deal was first announced in late October 2018. As a result, Quad will pay their once-again rival and top competitor a $45 million break-up fee. And LSC […]