CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. said on Thursday that they have each set up special committees to evaluate a potential recombination. Shares of Viacom were down 1.5% after hours, while CBS shares were down less than 1%. “There can be no assurances that this process will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur. Neither CBS nor the committee intends to comment further, until the process is completed,” the company said in a news release. Viacom released an identical statement shortly after, save for the name of the company. The move comes as Shari Redstone, vice-chair of both CBS and Viacom, has pushed for the two companies to merge. The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Redstone wanted new members on the CBS board to spark new merger talks with Viacom. Shares of Viacom are down more than 20% in the last 12 months and CBS shares are down nearly 9%. By comparison the S&P 500 index is up roughly 24% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 31%.
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