CBS and Viacom probably won’t be able to announce a combination by Thursday, when the two companies are scheduled to report quarterly earnings, according to a report.
Both media companies are controlled by the family of Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari and there were reports that negotiators had set Thursday as a deadline for reaching a deal, which is reportedly favored by Shari Redstone.
But according to CNBC, while they are close to an agreement, the two sides are still negotiating how much of one companies stock will be exchanged for the other companies shares.
The two companies are not expected to answer questions about the merger on Thursday’s earnings conference calls with analysts, CNBC said.
Previously it was reported that the two companies had agreed on a management structure that would have Viacom CEO Bob Bakish running the combined company with CBS interim CEO Joe Ianniello in charge of the CBS-branded assets.
