Viacom, CBS to explore merger

National Amusements Inc., the controlling shareholder of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp., is getting ready to call on a merger of the two media companies, a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires.

National Amusements is controlled by Sumner Redstone, the former executive chairman of of CBS and Viacom. The company has a nearly 80 percent voting stake on both companies.

Viacom acquired CBS in 2000, but the companies split in 2006.

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