CBS has formally submitted an offer for Viacom, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told TheWrap, pricing Viacom below its current market value.
The all-stock pitch is contingent on CBS’ management team leading the mega-company. Should this go down, CBS wants CEO Les Moonves and president Joe Ianniello to run the combined corporation.
It’s unclear where that would leave Viacom boss Bob Bakish.
Since this is an all-stock deal, the exact dollar value of the offer has fluctuated since talks began, and could continue to shift. After a tough day of stock trading, Viacom’s current market cap is now $12.222 billion, based on a VIAB per-share price of $29.42, which is where the U.S. markets closed at 4 p.m. ET today. That was down $1.13 per share from Monday’s close, or minus 3.70 percent.
CBS and Viacom were one company once before, though they spun off from one-another back in 2005. Since then, CBS has been the more successful of the two publicly traded corporations.
Both companies are controlled by the Redstone Family. The ailing Sumner Redstone’s holding company National Amusements Inc. carries about 80 percent of the voting shares for both CBS and Viacom, and his daughter Shari Redstone is a vice chairman for each. She’s been leading the charge for CBS and Viacom to recombine.
TheWrap‘s request to Viacom for comment on this story were not immediately returned. CBS declined comment.