Redstone Final Chapter???

Even after an agreement was reached between Sumner Redstone and Viacom’s CEO over control of the Redstone trust, Redstone’s granddaughter remained as a last hurdle to pass for control of the trust to go to Redstone’s daughter. Now, the granddaughter has also agreed to settle the dispute.

Recently, media mogul Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone reached an agreement with Philippe Dauman to put an end to Dauman’s claim that Sumner Redstone was not competent to change the terms of his trust and that he had been unduly influenced by his formerly estranged daughter Shari to do so in her favor.

While that agreement ended most of the uncertainty concerning Redstone’s media empire, it did not end it all. Redstone’s granddaughter, Keryn Redstone, was still pursuing the matter.

Now, she too has reached an agreement, according to the Wall Street Journal in “Possible Accord Reached in Family Battle Over Sumner Redstone Trust.”

The settlement agreement is not yet finalized but in it the two sides have agreed to rewrite some terms of the trust to ensure Keryn Redstone that she will be treated fairly and equally along with Redstone’s other grandchildren. Keryn will also be allowed to meet with her grandfather for the first time since February 2016.

As long as talks between the two sides do not break down in the near future, this agreement should put an end to the challenges to Redstone’s competency that have plagued him this year for now and the foreseeable future. That should have investors breathing a sigh of relief.

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Reference: Wall Street Journal (Aug. 26, 2016) “Possible Accord Reached in Family Battle Over Sumner Redstone Trust.”