Whoa! As recently as what, yesterday, Sumner was saying how much faith he had/has in Shari. Then, the announcement that she's out?! Or at least off the board.
The stock popped about three bux at the opening bell then retreated back to close at $42.25 (up about a buck). This just hammers home the point that not all was well with stockholder's confidence that Shari was THE ONE.
There's not much money in drive-in movie chains anymore, and though none of the Redstones need the money, this one could turn ugly, fast.
There's bound to be serious questions about Redstone's abilities to continue to run a public company like Viacom at an age where most board chairmen have been retired for years. Redstone's inability to hang on to heirs apparent is legendary and notorious. Mel, Freston, Joel (well, no big loss there)... can Les hang in? Does he want to, or will this be the straw. He certainly doesn't need the money and would have no trouble finding another, less inconsistent gig.
All this among the WCBS buzz has got to have attracted the attention of radio folks and wall-streeters in a big way.
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