By Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Aging media mogul Sumner Redstone stepped down as executive chairman of Viacom on Thursday and was replaced by CEO Philippe Dauman, a move that immediately disappointed investors.
Although the decision mimicked one at sister company CBS, Thursday's action has the potential to set off a future board fight since Redstone's daughter Shari said Wednesday she was against Dauman's promotion to the role because of his involvement in family affairs.
Investment adviser SpringOwl had also opposed Dauman's taking the chairman's job, calling instead for an independent director.
Dauman is one of seven trustees that will control nearly 80 percent of the voting stakes at both CBS and Viacom after 92-year-old Redstone dies, a fortune worth around $4 billion. Shari Redstone and her son Tyler Korff are also trustees along with several other lawyers close to the family.
Viacom shares, which had been trading as much as 6 percent higher earlier Thursday, immediately dropped to a level about 1 percent higher after the news was announced at around 11 a.m. Eastern time.
Shari Redstone, who had opposed Dauman's promotion, said in a statement Thursday she "is going to continue to advocate for what she believes to be in the best interests of Viacom shareholders."
Viacom director William Schwartz said the board considered the "need for seasoned leadership" in appointing Dauman.
Redstone is embroiled in a legal battle with his ex-girlfriend and former caregiver Manuela Herzer over his health and mental capacity. The board move comes just before a court-ordered medical examination of Redstone is to be submitted to the court Friday.
Lucian Bebchuk, a Harvard law professor and director of its program on corporate governance, said the conflict highlights the problems of companies with two classes of stock – one set that holds voting power, and another that does not. He said in an email that Viacom's corporate structure is now "highly problematic and fraught with risks for public investors."
"The company's CEO is unaccountable to public investors and accountable only to a person whose health prevents him from actively monitoring the affairs of the company," Bebchuk said.
Full Lineup Set For AFI Fest; Official Selections Span 44 Countries, Include 9 Best International Feature Oscar Submissions
The American Film Institute (AFI) has unveiled the full lineup for this year’s AFI Fest, taking place in Los Angeles from October 23-27. Rounding out the slate of already announced titles are such highlights as September 5 directed by Tim Fehlbaum, All We Imagine As Light directed by Payal Kapadia, The Luckiest Man in America directed by Samir Oliveros (AFI Class of 2019), Zurawski v. Texas from executive producers Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lawrence and directors Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, and Oh, Canada directed by Paul Schrader (AFI Class of 1969). A total of 158 films are set to screen at the 38th edition of AFI Fest.
Of the official selections, 48% are directed by women and non-binary filmmakers and 26% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers.
Additional festival highlights include documentaries Architecton directed by Victor Kossakovsky; Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie directed by David Bushell; Devo directed by Chris Smith about the legendary new wave provocateurs; Gaucho Gaucho directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw; Group Therapy directed by Neil Berkeley with Emmy® winner Neil Patrick Harris and Tig Notaro; No Other Land directed by a Palestinian-Israeli team comprised of Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal; Pavements directed by Alex Ross Perry; and Separated directed by Errol Morris. Notable narrative titles include Black Dog (Gou Zen) directed by Guan Hu; Bonjour Tristesse directed by Durga Chew-Bose with Academy Award® nominee Chloë Sevigny; Caught By The Tides directed by Jia Zhangke; Hard Truths directed by Mike Leigh with... Read More