Viacom Board Approves Split

After months of speculation the board of Viacom, CBS's parent company, approved the notion to split the company into two entities yesterday.

"I'm following my instincts and I'm convinced we are doing the right thing. In this scenario, a friendly divorce is better than marriage," Viacom chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone told Variety. "I've learned from experience that you never look back and that you don't follow the crowd. I think the age of the conglomerates is probably over,"

Two companies surfaced as a result of the split: CBS and Viacom (a smaller company which will keep its parent's name). Known as CBS Corp. now, the new independent company will include the CBS and UPN networks, the Viacom TV station group, the Infinity Broadcasting radio unit, Viacom Outdoor, the CBS, Paramount and King World TV production operations as well as Showtime, book publisher Simon & Schuster and Paramount Parks.

CBS Corp. will also be run by the current CBS head Leslie Moonves. "This company will also have the financial capability to return significant capital to stockholders through dividend payments and stock repurchases," Redstone added.

For more information on the Viacom split, visit Yahoo News or Variety (free subscription required).

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