Sumner Redstone

Sumner Redstone (born the May 27th 1923 with Boston) is the President Board of directors and majority Actionnaire (more than 70%) of the companies conglomérales Viacom and CBS Corporation. He is also majority shareholder Midway Games and of the chain of cinema National Recreations. He is classified 63ème by Forbes in his classification of the 100 richest people of the world, with an evaluated fortune with 7,7 Billion dollars.

Childhood and studies

Born Sumner Murray Rothstein , it changes name into 1940 with the remainder of its family. His/her father of origin Juive is owner of National Recreation . He studies first of all with the Boston Latin School, then with the Harvard College.

Then, it serves the American Army during the Second world war, or it is charged to decode the messages Japanese. On its return, he studies with the Faculty of Law of Harvard or he obtains off his Bachelor Laws. After its diploma, he works for the American Ministère of justice with San Francisco then becomes private lawyer.

Career

Sumner Redstone ends up joining his/her father and takes the head of the family company National Recreation which it develops. He also invests in other companies like Columbia Pictures, the Twentieth Century Fox, Orion Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. With the beginning of the the Eighties, it sells its participations (except that in the Paramount) and garners important Plus-value S.

Viacom

In 1971, Sumner Redstone invests a little in Viacom, Spin-off of CBS. Indeed, FCC has very right interdict with the networks televised to diffuse the Programmes which they produce. There is thus a Scission CBS, which transfers its activity S from production in Viacom. Viacom had repurchased in 1985 the chain MTV and had re-elected it MTV Networks.

In 1987, Sumner Redstone lance a hostile O.P.A. on Viacom in order to diversify. It obtains the majority of control.

Paramount Communications

In 1993, it buys Paramount Communications , head office of Paramount Pictures, by gaining a battle against Barry Diller (member of the Board of directors of Vivendi Universal and chairman of InterActiveCorp) and John Malone (president of Liberty Media) . For that, it must increase three times. The acquisition is very criticized, because regarded as too expensive and overestimated. In order to reduce the financial weight of the purchase, it sells certain credits of the Paramount, of which the Madison Square Garden.

Redstone is not satisfied with the Paramount (which produced Titanic, Mission: Impossible, Forrest Gump or the Godfather). In 1994, it buys Blockbuster Entertainment, which amongst other things holds the production company televised of Aaron Spelling ( Spelling Entertainment ). In 2005, Viacom repurchases DreamWorks SKG, production company of cinema created by Steven Spielberg.

In August 2006, it is Sumner Redstone in person which announced with Tom Cruise that the Paramount put an end its contract, because of the relative failure of Mission: Impossible 3 and of excesses of Tom Cruise.

CBS

In 2000, Viacom amalgamates with CBS after its repurchase by Redstone . The subsidiary company repurchases its head office, 30 years after the scission. This fusion brings to Viacom of many cable networks like Spike TV and of new television channels like CMT.

Redstone continues small the acquisitions as in 2001 the repurchase of Study Bureau.

Reorganization

Into 2005, Viacom is divided into two. Of with dimensions a CBS Corporation (CBS, CBS Outdoor, Spelling Entertainment Group, UPN…) , and other new the Viacom (MTV Networks, Paramount, Viacom Interactive Ventures, Noggin, Study Bureau) . Redstone remains the majority Actionnaire of the two companies.

In September 2006, Sumner Redstone announces the replacement of Tom Freston by Philippe Dauman with the head of Viacom, because of its lack of aggressiveness in the business management.

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