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CMCSA - Comcast Corporation

NasdaqGS - NasdaqGS Real Time Price. Currency in USD

43.54

-0.23 (-0.53%)

As of 9:38AM EDT. Market open.

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Previous Close	43.77
Open	43.50
Bid	43.39 x 2200
Ask	43.59 x 3200
Day's Range	43.41 - 43.61
52 Week Range	32.61 - 45.30
Volume	368,104
Avg. Volume	18,224,096

Market Cap	197.889B
Beta (3Y Monthly)	1.02
PE Ratio (TTM)	16.63
EPS (TTM)	2.62
Earnings Date	Oct 23, 2019 - Oct 28, 2019
Forward Dividend & Yield	0.84 (1.90%)
Ex-Dividend Date	2019-10-01
1y Target Est	49.26

Trade prices are not sourced from all markets

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Press Releases

Bloomberg
Hasbro's $4 Billion Peppa Pig Offer Looks a Little Skinny
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- At first glance, Entertainment One Ltd. and Hasbro Inc. make for ideal bedfellows. The former makes kids TV hit Peppa Pig, the latter is the world’s biggest toymaker. Merge one with the other and you get a combined video and merchandising giant.That’s why there’s sound strategic rationale for Hasbro’s planned 3.3 billion-pound ($4 billion) acquisition of the Toronto-based studio. It gets its trotters on some valuable kids’ franchises that it can turn into more toys, and it can use eOne’s TV and film production chops to exploit its own catalog of games, which span from Monopoly to Buckaroo! to Jenga.Hasbro has a decent if not stellar track record of turning its game franchises into films. The Transformers and G.I. Joe movies have done well at the box office, though no one would accuse them of being critical successes.That’s where reservations about the eOne deal come in. While it might be known as the firm behind Peppa Pig, the cartoon represents just 10% of its total revenue. The company’s family and brands business is expanding quickly, but its film and television division, which has made films such as Green Book and TV shows including The Walking Dead, contributes more sales and profit. It has something that Hasbro lacks: prestige.Darren Throop, the eOne chief executive, prides himself on the quality of the film and TV productions. It’s easy to see how eOne stalwarts might find the prospect of churning out spinoffs from Hasbro’s board games and toys hard to stomach. Sure, the deal logic holds up on paper: 130 million pounds of anticipated synergies by 2022 could lead to returns from the deal nearing 8% based on analyst earnings forecasts, just about covering the cost of capital. And that's before any upside from selling more toys or making more films.But are these firms as good a cultural fit as they insist? That might be the biggest hurdle to realizing the deal’s potential. That’s assuming it even completes. Right now, that’s in doubt. The stock traded as high as 5.90 pounds on Friday, above Hasbro’s 5.60 pounds-per-share bid, suggesting investors anticipate either an activist pushing the purchase price higher, or a counterbidder sticking their snout in. Rivals might include the Walt Disney Co., John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc, Vincent Bollore’s Vivendi SA, Comcast Corp. or even toymaking rival Mattel Inc.The plethora of competing TV and film streaming services has sparked a fight for high-quality content, and eOne has some of the best, helped by relationships with Steven Spielberg, with whom it has a production joint venture, and super-producer Mark Gordon.Disney expanded from a production company into a merchandising and theme park giant, and its success under CEO Bob Iger has been built around recognizable franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar’s output. Hasbro is making a play to do the same but in the opposite direction. High-quality content is increasingly scarce and expensive, though. That might make eOne an equally tasty morsel for someone else.To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
Phone Companies Strike Deal With States to Fight Robocalls
(Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and 10 other large phone companies have struck an agreement with 51 attorneys general to enact technology to block robocalls before they reach consumers.The deal, announced Thursday, will help protect consumers from receiving illegal robocalls, and assist law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting bad actors, said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who is leading the effort that includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia.Under the deal, the companies will launch the call-blocking technology at no cost to consumers, and make other free anti-robocall devices and apps available to subscribers. “By signing on to these principles, industry leaders are taking new steps to keep your phone from ringing with an unwanted call,” Stein said in a statement.The companies are under pressure to protect consumers against the unwanted calls, which are a top source of complaints with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Across the U.S. there were 48 billion robocalls last year, up from 31 billion in 2017, according to a tally by YouMail Inc., a developer of software that blocks the calls.In July, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US Inc. said they were making progress toward installing technology to authenticate calls so consumers would know if the call is coming from the person supposedly making it. The FCC has demanded the technology be in place by the end of the year.FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the agreements with the states “align with the FCC’s own anti-robocalling and spoofing efforts,” including the agency’s caller authentication standards.“Few things can bring together policy leaders across the political spectrum like the fight against unwanted robocalls,” Pai said in a statement. “The FCC is committed to working together with Congress, state leaders, and our federal partners to put an end to unwanted robocalls.”Consumers are often duped into answering phone calls because they appear to be from a local number or business.“The bad actors running these deceptive operations will soon have one call left to make: to their lawyers,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in the statement.Companies InvolvedThe other companies signing the agreement are T-Mobile, CenturyLink Inc., Comcast Corp., Sprint Corp., Bandwidth Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc., Frontier Communications Corp., U.S. Cellular Corp. and Windstream Holdings Inc.The FCC has demanded that carriers adopt the system to digitally validate phone calls passing through the complex web of networks. The agency also has said that providers may block calls, and cast a preliminary vote to require the digital authentication if carriers fail to install it by year’s end.Several of the top U.S. carriers issued statements in concert with the state attorneys general announcement. While the group on a whole backed the effort, there were few if any new, specific anti-spam call actions or timelines mentioned.“It’s imperative that we stand together on a common set of goals that include stopping callers from hiding their identities, working with other carriers on efforts to trace back illegal calls to the source, and keeping the originators from sending robocalls in the first place," Verizon said in a statement.“The fight against the scourge of illegal robocalls requires all hands on deck, and we welcome and appreciate the support of the state attorneys general,” AT&T said in a statement.(Updates with carriers and FCC comment beginning in seventh paragraph.)\--With assistance from Erik Larson and Scott Moritz.To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Reid in Washington at jreid98@bloomberg.net;Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, ;Keith Perine at kperine2@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth WassermanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Alibaba, Dillard's, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Comcast highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Alibaba, Dillard's, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Comcast highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Bloomberg
Berlusconi Battles Billionaire to Build Netflix Rival
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French billionaire Vincent Bollore are locking horns again in a battle to lead the southern European charge against Netflix Inc. Bollore, who controls media conglomerate Vivendi SA, lost the first round against Berlusconi in 2017. He’s well positioned to do better in the second. Think of it as a European version of HBO’s hit show “Succession,” where a rival takes on an aging but still powerful media baron. The two tycoons are sparring over the future of Mediaset SpA, the Italian broadcaster that Berlusconi founded and controls. The Milan-based company plans to merge with Spanish affiliate Mediaset Espana Comunicacion SA and redomicile in the Netherlands. The move will consolidate the control that Berlusconi, 82, and his family, through investment vehicle Fininvest, have by giving them extra voting rights in the new company, which will be called MediaForEurope.It’s a prospect that Bollore, 67, must be loath to countenance. Vivendi owns 29% of Mediaset and plans to oppose the deal in a shareholder vote Sept. 4 since it will further diminish its influence, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. While Berlusconi needs a two-thirds majority to approve the merger, Vivendi may only be able to exercise 9.6% of the voting rights because most of its shares sit in an independent trust as a result of a 2017 reprimand from the Italian regulator -- Bollore’s initial defeat by Berlusconi. Luckily Vivendi has another lever it might exercise. The deal will fall through if shareholders owning more than 180 million euros of stock exercise a withdrawal right, whereby Mediaset has to pay investors opposing the merger a set price for their shares. Even if Vivendi were only to exercise the rights on its 9.6% direct stake, that would top 300 million euros, potentially scuppering Berlusconi’s plans.It might just give Bollore the leverage he needs to realize a long-held goal: creating a southern European content champion that can better compete with Netflix. Doing so would likely mean selling the stake at a loss, but the threat could force Berlusconi back to the negotiating table to forge some sort of alliance to pool Vivendi and Mediaset content. After all, the merger of the two Mediasets in Italy and Spain has a similar intention, to create a new video content giant.That’s how Bollore ended up with a stake in Mediaset to begin with. Back in 2016, he pulled out of a deal to buy Berlusconi’s Mediaset Premium (the pay TV arm that has since been sold to Comcast Inc.’s Sky unit) for some 800 million euros, instead buying up shares in the parent firm. Since Vivendi is also the biggest shareholder in Telecom Italia SpA, Italy’s communications regulator made the French firm forfeit most of its Mediaset voting rights, saying that the dual stakes breached rules concerning concentration of media and telecoms ownership.Bollore has been left with stakes in two Italian companies worth a combined 3.2 billion euros, but over which he has little influence. He also suffered a galling defeat at the hands of activist Elliott Management Corp. for control of Telecom Italia last year. He now has an opportunity to salvage some of the plans that first got him into this mess.To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Baker at stebaker@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Motley Fool
Netflix Is Angling for Its Piece of This $122 Billion Market
While the streaming giant's hit shows are its bread and butter, another massive opportunity is waiting in the wings.
Market Realist
Disney Slips 0.12% on Allegations of Inflated Revenue
A former employee claims that Disney (DIS) inflates its revenue to enhance its financial results. Disney refutes the allegations.
Zacks
3 Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks to Buy as Bond Yields Fall & Global Worries Rise
Check out these 3 blue-chip dividend stocks to buy as bond yields fall...
Bloomberg
Apple's TV Splurge Just Adds to the Madness
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Get ready, TV fans, because the next few months are going to be wild. Apple Inc., AT&T Inc., Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. are spending billions of dollars on so much new streaming content that there will be little reason to leave your couch this winter – or to keep your cable subscription.Apple gave a taste yesterday of what it’s been working on by releasing a trailer for “The Morning Show,” an original series that looks so good it could easily be mistaken for an HBO production. With an all-star cast led by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, Apple is said to be spending $300 million alone for the first two seasons. The company has committed a whopping $6 billion overall to produce original shows and movies, according to the Financial Times, which would match what Netflix spent in 2017 and would also be in the same ballpark as Amazon.com Inc.’s expected content investment for this year. Other outlets have disputed that Apple’s budget is quite so large. Either way, it’s clear the iPhone maker is serious about streaming. The Apple TV+ and Disney+ video-on-demand apps will both be available by mid-November, followed by AT&T’s HBO Max product. They are game-changers for the pay-TV industry, already littered with live-TV streaming products from Sling TV to YouTube TV.Disney has spent about $15 million per episode to make “The Mandalorian,” a live-action “Star Wars” series that will serve as the flagship of Disney+, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s about $120 million for the first season, which isn’t far from what Disney shelled out for “Captain Marvel,” the third-biggest movie of the year in terms of U.S. box-office ticket sales. The company expects to invest more than $1 billion in original content for the app next year and another roughly $1 billion for licensed content. These streaming wars are risky. Studio owners generally have a sense of what a TV program could deliver in advertising revenue and how large of a theater audience a film might draw. But Disney+ will charge just $7 a month and contain no ads. The company is betting it can build a large enough customer base so that all these pricey investments that have shareholders wincing right now will pay off some day.In the Apple TV trailer above, Aniston’s character at one point says, “I just need to be able to control the narrative so that I am not written out of it.” It struck me as funny because that’s exactly what Disney and its peers are trying to do as they flood the market with content and turn a blind eye to the cost. Disney predicts it will have 60 million to 90 million Disney+ subscribers globally by the end of fiscal 2024, when the app finally begins making money. Analysts see Apple TV+ topping 100 million in the next five years, according to Bloomberg News. While both are starting from zero, they do have the advantage of strong, far-reaching customer relationships – Disney through its movies and theme parks, and Apple by physically being in most of our pockets already. Netflix is protecting its turf by lighting it on fire. It’s projected to spend about $15 billion for in-house and licensed content this year while burning $3 billion of free cash flow. The company paid $100 million just to keep “Friends” on its platform through 2019. Even though the sitcom hasn’t aired new episodes in more than 15 years, it’s the second-most-watched program on Netflix. After this year, AT&T is reclaiming the rights to the show for its HBO Max product.A little over a year ago, Casey Bloys, HBO’s programming chief, referred to such spending as “irrational exuberance.” But then earlier this year, his boss, HBO Chairman Richard Plepler, left the company in a shake-up by its new parent AT&T. HBO is now ramping up its production slate to reduce churn, or the rate at which bored subscribers are canceling, and HBO Max is reportedly paying $425 million to carry “Friends” for five years starting in 2020. Likewise, the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal has its own $500 million five-year exclusive rights deal for “The Office,” the No. 1 show on Netflix. There is a potential fallacy in the companies’ thinking around these lavish deals: What if Netflix subscribers were streaming “Friends” and “The Office” for hours on end simply for background noise, something to mindlessly tune in and out of as they scrolled Instagram or did chores? In that case, perhaps users won’t necessarily miss those specific shows and won’t switch to other services at a rate that would come close to justifying nearly $1 billion for two old sitcoms. In any case, I keep writing about the frustration of needing to pay for and toggle between numerous apps just to access all your favorite content and the confusion that comes with doing so. It’s only going to get worse once Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max launch. But at least there will be no shortage of stuff to watch, and with all this money being thrown around, you know it’ll be good. To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., media and telecommunications. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Motley Fool
Can WWE's NXT Body Slam the Company's New Rival?
The "developmental" promotion is going to air on the USA Network on the same night of the week as AEW on TNT.
Zacks
Has Comcast (CMCSA) Outpaced Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?
Is (CMCSA) Outperforming Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?
Bloomberg
Apple Targets Apple TV+ Launch in November, Weighs $9.99 Price After Free Trial
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. plans to roll out the Apple TV+ movie and TV subscription service by November, part of a drive to reach $50 billion in service sales by 2020. The company will introduce a small selection of shows and then expand its catalog more frequently over several months, people familiar with the matter said. A free trial is likely as Apple builds up its library, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.The iPhone maker is entering an increasingly crowded field, led by streaming pioneer Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. In the coming months, Walt Disney Co., AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal will debut new offerings -- all targeted at the growing ranks of viewers who are canceling cable-TV subscriptions or watching on mobile devices.With its first foray into video subscriptions, Apple is weighing different release strategies for shows. The company is considering offering the first three episodes of some programs, followed by weekly installments, the people said. Netflix tends to release whole seasons at once for bingeing, while AT&T’s HBO and Disney’s Hulu often release episodes weekly. The service will launch globally in over 150 countries. Apple TV+ will be one of five major digital subscription services in Apple’s portfolio, along with Apple Music, the upcoming Apple Arcade gaming service, Apple News+ and iCloud storage subscriptions. The company also generates recurring revenue from products like AppleCare extended customer service and its bank-operated iPhone upgrade program. It will also likely start pulling in revenue from the Apple Card, which began rolling out earlier this month. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.Apple hasn’t announced pricing for Apple TV+, but is weighing $9.99 a month, the people said, which would match Apple Music and Apple News+. Netflix and Amazon Prime charge as little as $8.99, while Disney+ plans to seek $6.99 when its service debuts in November.The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Apple has set aside $6 billion for original shows and movies, without saying where it got the information. The budget for the first year of content was $1 billion, but has since expanded, it said. That’s far less than what Netflix is expected to spend this year. Analysts forecast it will lay out more than $14 billion on films and TV shows.Revenue DriveApple is pushing into services to generate added revenue from its large base of iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch users. Consumers have been slower to replace hardware recently due to higher prices, market saturation, economic headwinds and a lack of new, breakthrough features. Read More: Apple Faces Life After IPhone But Still Banks on the IPhoneThe company could head off a revenue slowdown by coaxing users to subscribe to the new services. Cupertino, California-based Apple could also potentially boost revenue by tying services to the iPhone upgrade program, which lets customers update to new models annually via monthly payment plans.Apple’s initial slate of shows will include “The Morning Show,” Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories,” “See” with Jason Momoa, “Truth Be Told” with Octavia Spencer, and a documentary series about extravagant houses called “Home.” On Monday, the company released the second trailer for “The Morning Show,” starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. The TV service will be part of Apple’s TV app, which comes installed on the company’s devices, and will also be accessible from third-party products, like Roku and Amazon Fire TV boxes, and Samsung televisions.In the fiscal third quarter, services represented a record 21% of Apple’s sales, while the iPhone continued to dip below 50% of the total.Analysts have suggested Apple TV+ could top 100 million subscribers in the next half-decade, which would make it a major challenger to Netflix and Amazon.The company is making a big commitment to video, including around $300 million alone to two seasons of “The Morning Show,” according to people familiar with the matter.(Updates with budget details in 8th paragraph.)\--With assistance from Nate Lanxon.To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Gurman in San Francisco at mgurman1@bloomberg.net;Anousha Sakoui in Los Angeles at asakoui@bloomberg.net;Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Thomas PfeifferFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Motley Fool
Does Netflix Have a Pricing Problem?
Its second quarter subscriber numbers disappointed, and cheaper competitors are coming.
Motley Fool
Hulu Is Rapidly Becoming a Force in Pay-TV
The Disney-controlled streaming service added 300,000 live television subscribers last quarter as its competitors lost customers.
Yahoo Finance
Stephen Ross isn’t Trump’s only supporter — Here are other business leaders who have backed Trump
CEOs of consumer-facing brands have been careful to align their companies in partisan Trump era politics. Here are some of the business leaders who have thrown dollars behind the President.
Motley Fool
Here's Why Losing "Friends" and "The Office" Won't Matter to Netflix in the Long Run
Much has been made about the loss of two of its most popular shows, but over time, losses such as these will become less important.
Motley Fool
Disney World's New $299 Trick Is Brilliant but Risky
The new Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Pass seems like a no-brainer way to boost theme-park revenue, but it could also be a lose-lose offering. It would be bad if it fails, but potentially even worse if it succeeds.
Motley Fool
It's Never Too Early for Halloween at Disney World
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party kicks off at Disney World in Florida, even as Halloween itself is still two-and-a-half months away.
Market Realist
How Could the Viacom-CBS Merger Affect Netflix?
This week, Viacom (VIAB) and CBS (CBS) agreed to merge to form a new media entity, ViacomCBS. That merger could affect Netflix in several ways. With their merger, Viacom and CBS aim to become a major player in the video streaming market. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who is set to lead ViacomCBS, said in an […]
Zacks
Is Comcast (CMCSA) a Great Value Stock Right Now?
Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.
Yahoo Finance
Wall St. analyst says WWE is his top pick, expects shares to climb 49%
Guggenheim believes that WWE is a good bet for investors as 2019 comes to a close.
Market Realist
Salto Seeks to Loosen Netflix’s Grip on French Market
In an effort to challenge Netflix, France Télévisions, TF1, and M6 plan to launch a subscription video service called Salto as early as Q1 2020.
Market Realist
Comcast Stock’s Growth Prospects and Valuation
Comcast (CMCSA) stock is trading at 13.84x its fiscal 2019 estimated EPS of $3.07. It’s also trading at 12.47x its fiscal 2020 estimated EPS of $3.40.
Bloomberg
CBS and Viacom Are Near a Deal After Agreeing on Price
(Bloomberg) -- CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. may be done keeping investors waiting.The media giants are expected to announce a merger as soon as Tuesday, the culmination of years of on-again, off-again discussions.They’ve agreed on an exchange ratio of 0.59625 a share of CBS for each of Viacom’s for the all-stock merger, according to people familiar with the situation. At this level, a deal would peg Viacom at around its current market value of close to $12 billion. The agreement struck between the companies is in principle and won’t be final until it’s announced, the people said.The companies have been negotiating around the clock since the weekend and the timing of an announcement could still change, according to the people. The current trading ratio between the two companies is around 0.59, based on their stock prices as of the close on Monday.CBS shares gained 0.8% to $48.41 as of 9:40 a.m. in New York on Tuesday, while Viacom rose 0.3% to $28.62. The last time the companies were in merger discussions, more than a year ago, Viacom directors had agreed to take 0.6135 of a CBS share for every nonvoting share of their business, people with knowledge said at the time.The companies now expect about $500 million of annual cost savings from the deal after Viacom took about $300 million in costs out of its business, one of the people said. The two sides, using the code names “Comet” and “Venus,” had earlier expected to save at least $1 billion by combining.Shari Redstone, whose family investment vehicle National Amusements Inc. controls both companies, would become chairman of the combined entity, the people said. Viacom Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish, meanwhile, is set to lead the company as CEO, according to the people. He would also get a seat on the board.The deal would unite the most-watched U.S. broadcast network with the owner of the Paramount movie studio and cable channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon. It would also cap years of failed merger attempts and board infighting at both companies.Greater ScaleThe companies are likely to highlight how greater scale will help them negotiate with third parties, MoffettNathanson analysts said in a note to clients on Friday.“CBS’s and Paramount’s production asset will quickly move up the ranks to challenge the big boys of Disney, Comcast, AT&T and Netflix, and will be an attractive home for creative talent,” they said.CBS would receive six seats on the 13-member board, while Viacom would get four, the people said. Another two would be designated to NAI, they said, with Redstone and family attorney Robert Klieger slated for those roles.Strauss Zelnick, the video-game executive who is the interim CBS chairman, has stated that he’s not interested in an ongoing role. The Information reported on the likely board composition last week.Viacom had a market value of about $11.7 billion as of Monday’s close.2006 SplitCBS and Viacom, both based in New York, were one entity until 2006, when the Redstone family decided investors would give them greater value as separate companies. That strategy didn’t work as well as expected, and there’s been sporadic efforts to recombine them in recent years.CBS has been weighing its next moves since the ouster of longtime CEO Les Moonves last year. He was fired in September after a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, setting off a shake-up that included a board overhaul. Joe Ianniello, formerly chief operating officer, has been running the company as interim CEO ever since.(Updates shares in fifth paragraph)\--With assistance from Jeff Green and Gerry Smith.To contact the reporters on this story: Nabila Ahmed in New York at nahmed54@bloomberg.net;Ed Hammond in New York at ehammond12@bloomberg.net;Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Nick Turner, Matthew MonksFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Investing.com
Comcast Rises 3%
Investing.com - Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) rose by 3.34% to trade at $43.88 by 09:48 (13:48 GMT) on Tuesday on the NASDAQ exchange.
Bloomberg
CBS and Viacom Work Through Night to Hammer Out Deal
(Bloomberg) -- CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. are keeping investors waiting.The media giants were expected to announce a merger as soon as Monday, the culmination of years of on-again, off-again discussions. But the negotiations have dragged on, setting the stage for another day of anticipation.The two sides have been working out the terms for an all-stock merger of companies worth a combined $30 billion. They’ve discussed 0.595 to 0.6 of a share of CBS for each of Viacom’s, though that range could change, according to people familiar with the situation. At this level, a deal would value Viacom at around its current level -- in other words, Viacom investors wouldn’t get the kind of premium they might have liked.Those terms, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, sent shares of Viacom down 4.9% to $28.53 on Monday. That was the steepest intraday decline in almost five months. CBS, meanwhile, dipped 1.8% to $48.04.The companies held a marathon negotiating session late into the night Sunday, according to the people, without reaching a resolution. The current trading ratio between the two companies is around 0.59, based on their stock prices on Monday in New York.The last time the companies were in merger discussions, more than a year ago, Viacom directors had agreed to take 0.6135 of a CBS share for every nonvoting share of their business, people with knowledge said at the time.The companies now expect about $500 million of annual cost savings from the deal after Viacom took about $300 million in costs out of its business, one of the people said. The two sides, using the code names “Comet” and “Venus,” had earlier expected to save at least $1 billion by combining.Shari Redstone, whose family investment vehicle National Amusements Inc. controls both companies, would become chairman of the combined entity, the people said. Viacom Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish, meanwhile, is set to lead the company as CEO, according to the people. He would also get a seat on the board.The deal would unite the most-watched U.S. broadcast network with the owner of the Paramount movie studio and cable channels such as MTV and Nickelodeon. It would also cap years of failed merger attempts and board infighting at both companies.Greater ScaleThe companies are likely to highlight how greater scale will help them negotiate with third parties, MoffettNathanson analysts said in a note to clients on Friday.“CBS’s and Paramount’s production asset will quickly move up the ranks to challenge the big boys of Disney, Comcast, AT&T and Netflix, and will be an attractive home for creative talent,” they said.CBS would receive six seats on the 13-member board, while Viacom would get four, the people said. Another two would be designated to NAI, they said, with Redstone and family attorney Robert Klieger slated for those roles.Strauss Zelnick, the video-game executive who is the interim CBS chairman, has stated that he’s not interested in an ongoing role. The Information reported on the likely board composition last week.Viacom had a market value of about $11.7 billion as of Monday’s close.2006 SplitCBS and Viacom, both based in New York, were one entity until 2006, when the Redstone family decided investors would give them greater value as separate companies. That strategy didn’t work as well as expected, and there’s been sporadic efforts to recombine them in recent years.CBS has been weighing its next moves since the ouster of longtime CEO Les Moonves last year. He was fired in September after a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, setting off a shake-up that included a board overhaul. Joe Ianniello, formerly chief operating officer, has been running the company as interim CEO ever since.\--With assistance from Jeff Green and Gerry Smith.To contact the reporters on this story: Nabila Ahmed in New York at nahmed54@bloomberg.net;Ed Hammond in New York at ehammond12@bloomberg.net;Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Nick TurnerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.