Sumner not pulling an Enron

Viacom grand daddy Sumner Redstone is playing just that in calming investors who may be worried about the stock price. Sumner who is the biggest shareholder has been selling stocks sending jitters through the pockets of other Viacom shareholders who may or may not take his selling of stocks as a sign that he knows something they don't. Viacom's stock price has been falling leaving many to question the split from CBS. Since the beginning of the year, National Amusements, a private company that controls Viacom and is led by Mr. Redstone, has sold about $184 million in Viacom shares at decreasing prices, securities filings show. The sales do not signal a lack of confidence in Viacom’s prospects, the company said. Rather, they are an extension of an arrangement that National Amusements entered into with the board of Viacom’s predecessor company in 2004 when it began a stock buyback program. The agreement was intended to ensure that National Amusements’ percentage ownership in Viacom would not increase as a consequence of the share buyback. At the beginning of 2006, Viacom split from its corporate sibling, the CBS Corporation, and retained the name of Mr. Redstone’s former conglomerate. “I continue to believe that Viacom is one of the best long-term investments in the media sector,” Mr. Redstone said in a statement in response to a query about the sales. “While National Amusements would obviously like to get the highest price possible for the shares, it must sell under the program initiated by the Viacom board. We are maintaining our proportionate interest in Viacom — which we intend to hold forever.” read...