National Amusements Inc. to sell nearly $1B of its Viacom, CBS stock

Locally-based National Amusements Inc. said Wednesday, Oct. 14 that it will sell nearly $1 billion in Viacom and CBS stock, a move that – combined with the expected sales of other assets – will allow the company to fully pay off its creditors..

National Amusements said it expects to generate about $600 million from the portion of Viacom Inc. stock it is selling, and about $345 million from its offering of CBS Corp. shares. National Amusements will still hold more than 75 percent voting control in each media company, and said it does not intend to further reduce its stakes in either.

National Amusements also said that “the anticipated sales of certain non-core assets” would help pay off its debt, which is $1.46 billion. The company, controlled by Sumner Redstone, was working earlier this year to divest up to dozens of theaters before a $500 million debt payment comes due in October.

National Amusements now plans to sell 35 theaters in the Midwest and elsewhere, while keeping 28 theaters in Massachusetts and New York, according to the Associated Press.

“As a result of our actions, National Amusements will be out of debt with its existing creditors and will still control its most important assets,” Redstone said in a statement yesterday. He added that CBS and Viacom are well positioned to grow as the economy improves, and that “National Amusements theaters have outstanding near- and long-term prospects.”

National Amusements operates more than 1,500 movie screens in the U.S. and abroad, including 15 at Showcase Cinema de Lux, which opened at Legacy Place in late August.

The Redstone family’s movie theater company, founded in 1936, was long based in Dedham. National Amusements had planned to build a new world headquarters at Legacy Place to complement its new high-end cinema complex there, but for now the company remains in its temporary headquarters on University Avenue in Norwood.
Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.