Viacom director seeks meeting with former chairman Redstone

Viacom's board is trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting with former chairman and controlling stake owner Sumner Redstone following the 92-year-old media mogul's decision to rework his trust and other business arrangements.

"We have been trying to schedule a meeting with our friend and fellow director for almost a month. We are certainly concerned about him and are eager to talk with him face to face," Fred Salerno, the lead independent director and chairman of the governance committee of Viacom's board, wrote in a letter Thursday to Michael Tu, a lawyer at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe representing Redstone.

Given his roles at Viacom, Salerno "should have unfettered and unfiltered access, which has always been Sumner’s policy in the past," Salerno wrote.

Salerno said he wants to exchange "pleasantries about our shared experiences over decades together as colleagues" and conduct a question and answer session to "hear directly from (Redstone) his thoughts" about what he heard at last week’s Viacom strategy meeting.

"Obviously, we are aware of Sumner’s speech issues, so any physical assistance he needs to make his views known to us directly would be appreciated," he wrote.

Tu couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, Redstone, who is in need of around-the-clock care and has difficulty communicating, removed two key members of his trust who have worked with him for decades — Viacom Chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman and company board member George Abrams.

Sumner Redstone has appointed his oldest granddaughter-in-law, Kim‎ Ostheimer, and a family friend, Jill Krutick, to replace Dauman and Abrams in his trust.

Dauman and Abrams filed a lawsuit Monday in Massachusetts to block their removal as trustees. They claim Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone, illegally removed their names from the trust to regain control of her father's business affairs.

Redstone stepped down as chairman of Viacom and CBS Corporation in February following months of questions and speculation from analysts and investors about the company's management, performance and disclosure practices regarding his health. Viacom owns Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central, BET, MTV, Nickelodeon and other cable networks.

Redstone is still chairman and CEO of National Amusements, a theater company that owns controlling stakes in Viacom and CBS Corp.

Shari Redstone, who is president of National Amusements and is one of seven trustees of her father's trust, said her father is making his own decisions.

Dauman and Abrams were also removed as board members of National Amusements, and the suit asks that they be reinstated. Krutick and Tad Jankowski, general counsel of National Amusements, have been named new members of National Amusements' board of directors.