cc Friday, August 19, 2016 latimes.com/news

Viacom struggle ends: Shari Redstone at helm Daughter of media mogul ‘pulled off the palace coup’

By MEG JAMES TIMES STAFF WRITER

hari Redstone would tell her tough-as-nails father, Sumner S Redstone, that she possessed 80% of his brains, 90% of his passion and 100% of his obsessive personality. Media mogul Sumner Redstone, over the years, seemed to be his daugh- ter’s harshest critic. He would belittle her in public, telling associates that she wasn’t up for the task of leading his beloved media company, Viacom Inc. He sent a letter to Forbes magazine nearly a decade ago, dismissing her contributions. For a short while, father and daughter communicated via fax machine. This week, however, Shari Red- stone, 62, proved she was a worthy successor to her ailing 93-year-old fa- Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari Redstone are seen in Beverly Hills in 2012. ther with dogged determination to pre- (Katy Winn / Invision / Associated Press) serve the Redstone family dynasty and her father’s legacy. states, Viacom’s embattled chief execu- Dauman and Abrams sued the Red- “If there was any doubt that the tive, Philippe Dauman, resigned, and stones in Massachusetts probate court to strong-willed Redstone blood courses five new members, identified earlier reverse their dismissals. They claimed through her veins, that has been an- this summer by Shari Redstone, will that Sumner Redstone has dementia and swered with an exclamation point,” join the company's board. was being used as a tool by his daughter said Lloyd Greif, a Los Angeles invest- “This is the brave new world for who was attempting to seize control of ment banker. “She pulled off the pal- Viacom,” Greif said. “We all know who the $40-billion media empire of Viacom ace coup, and she now controls the is the power behind the throne. Sumner and CBS Corp. company.” has checked out, and now it’s Shari’s The Redstones control nearly 80% Viacom’s board late Thursday show — and there will be more ac- of the voting shares of the two compa- bowed to the demands of Shari and countability.” nies. Their next move, in June, was to Sumner Redstone, approving a settle- The corporate infighting at Viacom attempt to shake up the Viacom board. ment with the family that ends a messy erupted in late May when Sumner Red- They targeted board members who boardroom struggle that had engulfed stone, in poor health, moved to dump they believed had been too lax in over- the company that owns cable TV chan- Dauman, his longtime lieutenant, and seeing the company as its performance nels MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, George Abrams, another longtime asso- began to crumble. Ratings plummeted Nickelodeon, BET and the Paramount ciate, from the trust that will one day at Viacom’s youth-focused TV net- Pictures movie studio. oversee the mogul’s controlling shares works, and key talent, including Come- As part of the agreement, which in Viacom and CBS Corp. dy Central’s former late-night hosts, Jon must be approved by judges in two Stewart and Stephen Colbert, moved on ‘The brave new world for Viacom’ ghost.” His lawyers tried for months to avoid having him testify in the case, but in the end it was Redstone’s forceful testimony that persuaded a Los Angeles judge to dismiss Herzer’s lawsuit. With the Herzer case seemingly be- hind them, the Redstones turned their attention to shaking up Viacom. Within two and a half weeks, it was Dauman who was in the crosshairs. The elder Redstone was said to be infuriated with Dauman’s plan to sell a 49% stake in Paramount Pictures, Sumner Redstone’s beloved movie studio. Despite his ouster, Dauman will have an opportunity to pitch his Para- mount stake sale to Viacom board members. Dauman, who stepped down Shari Redstone, center, with her son Brandon Korff, left, and attorney Elizabeth as CEO on Thursday, will exit the board Burnett, right, depart the Stanley Moss Courthouse in Los Angeles on May 6, 2016. Sept. 13. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) As part of the agreement, Thomas Dooley, Viacom’s chief operating of- to rival networks. All the while, Para- A confluence of factors gave Shari ficer, was elevated to chief executive. mount’s big-budget movies were Redstone an opening to restore her rela- He will serve at least through the end of bombing in theaters. tionship with her father and mount the September, which coincides with the Three objectives fueled Shari Red- battle to regain control of Viacom. end of Viacom’s fiscal year. But people stone’s campaign, according to people Nearly a year ago, after a dust-up with familiar with the matter said Shari Red- familiar with her strategy. Viacom’s live-in girlfriend Sydney Holland, stone has indicated that she will likely vice chair wanted new leadership at the Sumner Redstone put another long- support Dooley to remain in the job company, a more attentive board of time companion, Manuela Herzer, in longer. directors and a path forward so Viacom charge of his daily schedule. “We don’t think Viacom is a quick can reclaim its position as a leader in In mid-October, Redstone decided or easy fix no matter who runs it,” entertainment. to also have Herzer removed from his Wells Fargo Securities media analyst “A lot of this was about business, hilltop mansion in Beverly Park and cut Marci Ryvicker wrote in a report earlier but some of it was personal,” said one her out of his will. According to court this month after Viacom’s earnings dis- insider who declined to be identified testimony, Redstone believed that Her- appointed Wall Street again. speaking about the tensions. “Sumner zer stole money from him — a charge Viacom stock closed Friday up 65 was [a] very tough father, and he treat- that Herzer denies. cents, or 1.5%, to $43.49. Shares are ed Philippe differently. That was frus- Herzer sued in November, and lurid down 45% compared with two years trating to her.” details about Redstone's obsession with ago. Sumner Redstone spent years heap- steak and sex, and his strained relation- At the other media company that the ing praise on Dauman, calling him “the ship with his daughter became front- Redstones control, CBS, Chairman and wisest man I know,” and telling inves- page news. After Herzer left, Shari Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said tors and others that he viewed Dauman Redstone was able to return to her fa- he believes Viacom is in good hands. as his rightful corporate heir — not his ther’s life and home. Around that time, "Shari has been a terrific board daughter nor his son, Brent Redstone, Sumner Redstone began watching his member and a strong voice for good who left the family business a decade favorite channel, CNBC, again and be- corporate governance throughout her ago with a $250-million settlement. gan receiving frequent updates on Via- tenure here at CBS," Moonves said in a Her father’s fascination with his com and its struggles. statement provided to The Times. "I am then-girlfriends, and his allegiance to But the contentious lawsuit brought sure she will bring that same good busi- Dauman, even when Viacom was fal- by Herzer weighed heavily on the ailing ness sense and positive, collegial atti- tering, bothered Shari Redstone, ac- mogul, who can barely speak because tude to the new situation at Viacom as cording to two people familiar with the his throat muscles have all but given she and the new board work to move matter. out, a result, according to some doctors, that company forward." In recent years, she distanced her- of the damage he sustained when he self from Viacom, spent time with her was badly burned in a hotel fire in Bos- family and launched her own venture ton in 1979. Herzer claimed that Red- capital firm, Advancit Capital, to invest stone was incompetent and “a living in new media ventures.