Viacom Sidesteps CBS Merger During Earnings Call as Deal Talks Continue

Company touts first domestic ad growth in 5 years, but isn’t ready to announce deal

CBS and Viacom had hoped to complete their merger talks by today—when both companies were set to announce quarterly earnings—but were unable to reach the finish line, leading Viacom to sidestep any CBS questions during its Thursday morning earnings call.

Reports surfaced in June that CBS was preparing an offer to re-merge with Viacom. Talks have continued through the summer, but the companies have yet to hammer out all the details.

Until that happens, the companies won’t be commenting publicly on a possible merger.

Jim Bombassei, svp, investor relations and treasury at Viacom, made that clear as he kicked off the company’s earnings call by telling investors, “we will not be responding to questions or comments regarding potential M&A.”

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