Sumner Redstone Appoints Two New Members to His Trust

Sumner Redstone, chairman emeritus of Viacom Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) said on Tuesday he has appointed two‎ new trustees to a trust that will determine the direction of the media conglomerate and CBS (NYSE:CBS) in the event of his incapacitation or death.

The two trustees are executive vice president and general counsel of National Amusements Inc, Redstone's privately held movie theater chain, Tad Jankowski and former media executive and media analyst Jill Krutick, Redstone said in a statement. He also named Krutick and his oldest granddaughter Kimberlee Ostheimer to the board of National Amusements.

Reuters reported on Sunday that Redstone, who will turn 93 on Friday, would add Jankowski and Krutick to his trust, citing sources familiar with the situation.

“This is my trust and my decision. I have picked those who are loyal to me and removed those who are not,” Redstone said in his statement.

The move comes after media mogul Redstone announced last week the removal of Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams from the seven-person trust and as directors of National Amusements. Dauman sued on Monday to stop Redstone, who ran Viacom for decades, from removing him and longtime director Abrams.

With the addition of Krutick and Jankowski, who has worked with Redstone's National Amusements since 1982, the trust appears to give Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone, control to determine the fate of her father's $40 billion media empire. As president and a board member of National Amusements, she is also on the trust and is vice chair of CBS and Viacom.

The Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Inc Trust owns about 80 percent of Redstone's privately held National Amusements Inc, which in turn owns 80 percent of the voting rights in both Viacom and CBS.

Viacom shares added to Monday's gains, rising 3.2 percent on Tuesday to $41.25.

(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)