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CBS and National Amusements are gearing up for battle, although the former general manager is facing his own fight to stay at the top of his business.
Two filings made at Delaware Chancery Court, where both companies are expected to appear in the fall as part of a much awaited showdown in the audience room, winking at The intense clash that Shari Redstone, president of National Amusements, and Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS, claim owner of the CBS television network, Showtime pay-cable outlet and Simon & Schuster publishing house.
A National Amusements filing unsealed on Tuesday alleged that CBS executives have removed evidence relevant to the case using TigerText, an iPhone app that can delete email messages. A CBS filing today alleges that Redstone, who is also vice president of CBS, attempted to oust Arnold Kopelson from the board of directors following his registration of his father, Sumner Redstone. , to capture the evidence of the medical condition of Redstone. The CBS filing was previously leaked by the Wall Street Journal.
The allegations are eye-catching, certainly, but also to be expected in the context of huge legal bursts on both sides as a result of the decision of the CBS Board of Directors in May to attempt to issue a dividend that would dilute National Amusements' ownership in the company from about 80% to just under 20%. If CBS succeeds, National Amusements will be prevented from trying to push the company to merge with its other holding, Viacom Inc. If National Amusements prevails, its control over CBS will remain and the company's management is likely to leave . [19659002]
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Wall Street believes that CBS efforts have been severely hampered by allegations raised in The New Yorker by six women who claim that Moonves sexually harassed them during a period from the 1980s to the early 1980s. 2000. "I recognize that there are dozens of years ago, I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. These are mistakes, and I regret them a lot, "Moonves told the magazine. "But I have always understood and respected – and respected the principle – that 'no' means 'no' and that I have never abused my position to harm or hinder the career of anyone." The CBS board of directors opened an investigation, but he took no action against Moonves, leaving him in place in his current role.
This gives NAI and Redstone new leverage in the ongoing conflict, said Tuna Amobi, an analyst at CFRA Research's media industry. He predicted that Redstone would be "very talkative to make sure the council did the right thing". But, aside from last week for a "thorough, open and transparent" investigation into the claims raised by the New Yorker, Redstone has not released any other statements that have been attributed to it.
Both parties hastened to reject the demands of the other Tuesday. "Tiger Text has been implemented by the CBS IT Security Group for cybersecurity reasons as a result of Sony's hacking, and has not been developed or used for infamous or disgraceful communications as some have claimed. ", said CBS in a statement. to throw cold water on CBS 'assertion about Kopelson, who has enjoyed a long friendship with Moonves. "It is true that Mr. Kopelson secretly recorded a video of Mr. Redstone at his home, which is illegal under California law, and that NAI raised serious concerns about it," the company said in a statement. communicated. "NAI has not requested that Mr. Kopelson be removed from the CBS board, but has specified that he would not vote to re-elect him at the annual meeting." Richard Parsons, the executive who served as president of Citigroup and CEO of the former Time Warner, is expected to replace Kopelson. CBS has chosen this week to delay its annual meeting of shareholders for the second time this year and has not set a new date.
But the documents suggest that this battle will be as colorful as fierce. CBS states that Kopelson visited Sumner Redstone on January 28 and that "the video recorded an attempted conversation with Mr. Redstone during a visit to Mr. Redstone's residence to" commemorate the physical condition of Mr. Redstone. "Elder Redstone has become more fragile in his advanced years.Where he participated in profit calls for CBS and Viacom, making remarks praising the CEO of each company, he stopped speaking during these meetings because It was difficult to make itself understood clearly.
In its file, NAI argues that CBS management, as well as its legal department, used TigerText for some of their communications – including directly related communications to this dispute – while using their CBS email accounts for other communications.The world that calls TigerText "The application for spies and cheats."
More back and forth is expected, with two parties currently scheduled to appear before the Delaware court in October. "I do not think we've heard this one by accident," said Amobi, the analyst. "I also do not think that Leslie came out of the wood in for the moment. "
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