Shari Redstone, the president of National Amusements, which owns a controlling interest in Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. , is pushing for new directors on both of the companies’s boards, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, as she tries to convince the two companies to merge. Shares of Viacom were up nearly 3% during intraday trade on Wednesday, while CBS shares dipped more than 1%. The report says Redstone approached CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves to reengage in talks to merge with Viacom. Moonves has not been keen on merging the two companies, which split in 2005. Media reports last weekend suggested that the two were not actively engaged in merger talks. Shares of Viacom are down nearly 17% in the last 12 months and shares of CBS are down close to 6%. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up almost 24% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 30%.
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