CBS has set its annual shareholder meeting for Dec. 11, 2018.
That date follows two previous postponements: One in May due to a legal battle with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and her National Amusements Inc. company, and the other in August after numerous sexual misconduct allegations against now-former CBS chief Leslie Moonves became public.
Here is CBS’ language straight from Tuesday’s SEC filing:
CBS Corporation (the “Company”) has fixed December 11, 2018 as the date for the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2018 Annual Meeting”) and the close of business on November 6, 2018 as the record date for determining the holders of shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock entitled to notice of and to vote at the 2018 Annual Meeting and any adjournment or postponement thereof and the holders of shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock entitled to notice of the 2018 Annual Meeting. The Company will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and deliver to stockholders definitive proxy materials containing additional information about the 2018 Annual Meeting. The Company has established the close of business on October 19, 2018 as the new deadline for the receipt of any stockholder proposals submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for inclusion in the Company’s proxy materials.
CBS had been embroiled in a civil war with National Amusements, with Moonves fighting against a merger to bring the two companies back together. Redstone — after her father, Sumner Redstone, had split the companies in 2006 — was adamantly pursuing reunification. CBS sued Redstone to block her from pushing the merger earlier this year.
That’s now fallen by the wayside, though, with Moonves ousted last month, following several sexual misconduct allegations were reported in the New Yorker. CBS and NAI settled their lawsuit, with NAI saying it will not push for a merger for at least two years.
It’s been a whirlwind year for CBS shareholders as well. Since opening the year at near $60 a share, CBS was battered by the merger battle, pushing shares as low as $48.75 a share in May. CBS shares have rallied slightly since Moonves was removed, increasing 3 percent in the last month to $57.86 a share on Tuesday.