Karmazin Stays with Viacom

[grinner]

WSJ: Karmazin to Stay with Viacom

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIAB - news) No. 2 executive Mel Karmazin is close to a deal that will keep him with the company beyond the end of his contract, which expires at the end of this year, according a story on the Web site of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Viacom's spokeswoman declined to comment.
Karmazin, Viacom's president and chief operating officer, is highly respected by many Wall Street analysts and investors. And doubts about whether he would renew his contract has weighed on the company's shares periodically over the last year.


Karmazin, who has reportedly feuded with Viacom's Chief Executive Sumner Redstone, has been in talks with Viacom's board about his contract. While Redstone has said he wants Karmazin to stay, he has also indicated he wants to wrest some control back.


In a story attributed to people close to the matter, the newspaper reported that Viacom's board met Wednesday and was expected to discuss a deal that would keep Karmazin beyond the end of his contract.


Terms of the deal were not known, but it would likely be a compromise between the two executives, the newspaper reported.

This could be good news because I think that Karmazin was the one that wanted to purchase Sci-Fi

[Dominar of Action]

OK, I'm sorry but I can't help it ....

CAT FIGHT!!!

(or should that be dog fight?)

:rollin:

[grinner]

bttt

[blue]

He signed the contract today for two more years.

Karmazin signs contract to stay at Viacom
By David B. Wilkerson & Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:01 AM ET Mar 20, 2003

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Ending months of speculation that he could leave at the end of this year, Viacom Chief Operating Officer Mel Karmazin has agreed to remain at the entertainment conglomerate through May 2006.

Viacom announced Thursday morning that Karmazin and CEO Sumner Redstone had signed new employment contracts.

Karmazin is a favorite on Wall Street because he has a knack for meeting earnings and revenue expectations of the analyst community. He had been mentioned as a possible successor for top jobs at AOL Time Warner (AOL: news) and Walt Disney Co. (DIS: news).


By TSC Staff
03/20/2003 09:40 AM EST

It seems Sumner and Mel are doing OK after all.

Viacom (VIA:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) announced a resolution Thursday to the much-debated dispute between its top two executives. The media conglomerate said it reached new employment agreements with CEO Sumner Redstone and operating chief Mel Karmazin, and that Karmazin will stay through May 2006.

Speculation has been rife for many moons over the fate of the highly-thought-of pair. Some Wall Street wags thought Karmazin might leave for AOL Time Warner (AOL:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) or another Viacom rival if he didn't get a new contract. His current agreement was set to expire this year.

Karmazin is considered by many on Wall Street to be key to the success of Viacom, which merged with CBS in 2000. Viacom also owns VH-1, UPN, Simon & Schuster and other properties.

[AyuRocks]

I heard it was 3-years


Karmazin signs 3-year deal at Viacom
Fri Mar 21, 6:38 AM ET

David Lieberman USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- Two of media's most colorful executives resolved the mysteries about their futures Thursday.

Viacom President Mel Karmazin signed a three-year contract to stay, ending a months-long battle of nerves with CEO Sumner Redstone.

And Ted Turner agreed to stay on AOL Time Warner's board in May after he steps down as vice chairman.

Karmazin's decision was a relief to shareholders, who like his no-excuses approach to ad sales -- 48% of Viacom's revenue -- and sharp eye for budget bloat. Shares rose 5% to $40.84.

Karmazin and Redstone ''complement each other,'' says Gerard Klauer Mattison analyst Jeffrey Logsdon. ''It's not Sumner's style to be involved in day-to-day trench warfare. It's probably the most favorable outcome you could have expected.''

But it took a lot of dickering to get there. Redstone, who controls 68% of Viacom stock, wanted back some of the powers he ceded in 2000 when Karmazin sold CBS to Viacom. Karmazin didn't want to give up turf, and there was speculation he might jump to a rival.

The new deal lets Karmazin keep broad authority to run operations but gives Redstone more flexibility to set policy and overrule him. Among the compromises:

* Karmazin no longer has an automatic right to become CEO if something happens to 79-year-old Redstone. But if passed over, he can leave with two years' pay.

* A simple majority of the board can fire Karmazin without cause. His old deal required 14 of the 18 votes.

* Redstone may nominate all board members. Previously, eight came from CBS.

* While Karmazin still can hire and fire, he can't touch certain senior executives. The list, yet to be set, likely will include Paramount's Jonathan Dolgen, MTV Networks' Tom Freston and CBS' Les Moonves.

* Redstone can overrule Karmazin's decisions after consulting with the board.

* Karmazin no longer needs approval from 14 board members before he can sell his Viacom stock.

Karmazin's contract runs through May 2006 and provides an annual salary of at least $1 million and a bonus targeted for this year at nearly $6.7 million and rising at least 10% each year.

Redstone, in a statement, praised Karmazin for his ''masterful job'' of integrating Viacom with CBS ''and operating them at peak performance.''

Karmazin says he's ''very excited about the future and working with Sumner to keep Viacom at the forefront of the media industry.''

Over at AOL Time Warner, Turner's decision to stay should relieve a potential headache for CEO Richard Parsons. Some executives feared that if Turner left the board he might become a vocal critic or even a competitor.

Earlier this week Turner told an audience in New York that he'd probably stay. He added that he wanted to see more people with media experience, such as former CNN chief Tom Johnson, on the AOL board. But Johnson apparently did not make the slate that AOL will send to shareholders later this month.