Word: viacom
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Many of the lawsuits have been justified, aimed at redressing victims' unimaginable suffering. But some have appeared opportunistic, including a recent cluster filed on behalf of healthy plaintiffs against companies that have only peripheral connections to asbestos, among them media giant Viacom, baby-products maker Gerber (a subsidiary of Novartis) and Gallo Winery. If the cascade of litigation continues, according to a recent Tillinghast-Towers Perrin study, its financial toll could reach $200 billion, more than the damage attributed to the Enron debacle. "The liability--both projected and actual--is far in excess of Enron," says David Austern, general counsel...
...beginning to take some particularly odd twists. Consider oil-field-services company Halliburton. Its Dresser Industries subsidiary, which was acquired in 1998, may still face 200,000 lawsuits from a unit, Harbison-Walker, that was spun off in 1992 and that declared bankruptcy on Feb. 14. Then there is Viacom, which, via its purchase of cbs in 2000, inherited Westinghouse Electric's 130,000 lawsuits. When Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide last year, its executives were well aware that they would be inheriting litigation--but didn't expect liability concerns to push its stock down 30%, as they did during...
...officials close to the two men whispered a different story. According to the New York Times, Redstone, 78, the CEO and chairman, told the company's board at a special meeting on Wednesday that he would not renew the contract of Karmazin, 57, Viacom's president and chief operating officer. Redstone, who owns 68% of Viacom's voting stock, generally gets what he wants. But Karmazin's contract runs through 2003, and he has been widely regarded as Redstone's successor...
...last Wednesday's board meeting, Viacom directors instructed the two to resolve their differences. Viacom issued a statement on Karmazin's contract, saying that "Mr. Redstone and Mr. Karmazin do not plan to address the issue any sooner than...
...regarded as loyal to Karmazin. He also has won fans on Wall Street by boosting earnings at CBS and earlier at Infinity Broadcasting. "If Mel leaves, the shares will take a hit," says stock analyst Peter Mirsky of SG Cowen. So Redstone, with $10 billion tied up in Viacom stock, might not want to shake this tree too hard...