Officials from Westinghouse Electric and CBS Inc. "yesterday
continued to hammer out terms of a Westinghouse bid for the
broadcaster, amid signs that Westinghouse may be willing to pay
$81 a share, $1 more than previously expected," according to
today's WALL STREET JOURNAL. The JOURNAL's Jensen & Narisetti
add, "A deal could be announced as early as today" (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 7/26). But the N.Y. TIMES reports that "few expected
Westinghouse to make a bid as early as today," with financing and
the timing of FCC approval the key reasons for the delay
(Geraldine Fabrikant, N.Y. TIMES, 7/26). The Westinghouse Board
meets today with the CBS bid at the top of the agenda (DAILY
VARIETY, 7/26).
VIACOM SHEDS CABLE ASSETS: Viacom finally agreed to spin
off its cable systems and sell them to TCI. As part of the deal,
which is valued at $2.25B, TCI will assume $1.7B of Viacom's
debt. Viacom Chair Sumner Redstone said the company is leaving
the cable business altogether to focus on being a "content-driven
media company" (L.A. TIMES, 7/26). The deal will "greatly
reshape the nation's cable TV landscape, especially in the Bay
Area," according to Jeff Pelline of the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
When the buyout is completed, TCI will control 90% of the Bay
Area cable TV market (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 7/26).
