CBS Corp. ended one of its most tumultuous and headline-grabbing weeks in its history on a positive note — at least on Wall Street.
With Friday’s Closing Bell, CBS shares finished in positive territory after sinking on Thursday in reaction to efforts by National Amusements Inc., led by Shari Redstone, to highly dilute a vote by CBS’s Board of Directors to drastically lower NAI’s voting power in CBS.
In early-after hours trading, CBS shares are at $52, up 25 cents from Friday’s $52.75 closing price. Volume was higher than normal, at 5.35 million shares. Average trading volume is 3.9 million shares.
As RBR+TVBR reported late Thursday, CBS Corp.’s Board of Directors definantly voted 11-3 to declare a pro rata dividend of 0.5687 shares of Class A common stock for each share of the company’s Class A and Class B common stock to stockholders of record on the record date, as is permitted under CBS’s charter.
The move is designed for one purpose: to prevent Redstone and NAI from forcing CBS’s merger with Viacom.
The payment of the dividend will now be up to Delaware Chancery Court Judge Andre Bouchard, who will make a final determination that includes any appeals.
As of 4:30pm Eastern there were no updates from the court on the matter.
