Viacom Wants In On Vice

Media conglomerate Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, led by new CEO Robert "Bob" Bakish, is said to be considering buying a stake in millennial digital media start-up Vice, according to a New York Post report

“Bakish wants to make his mark on the struggling media giant and is out to show his board that he has a vision for an independently run Viacom should current merger talks with CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) fall through,” the report said, citing sources.

There's History There

If Viacom buys a stake in Vice, it would essentially be acquiring a firm it once owned under former CEO Tom Freston, who is a financial backer of Vice along with WPP and 21st Century Fox.

In June, Freston told CNBC, “In 2006, [Viacom CEO Philippe] Dauman let a key piece of Vice go for $3 million.”

Vice And Acquisition Potential

Vice, led by Shane Smith, is now worth roughly $4.5 billion.

In addition, a report on Business Insider said Vice Media itself will go on an acquisition spree next year, as it looks to take advantage of a "bloodbath" of consolidation in the digital-media industry.

Meanwhile, Disney has a 23 percent stake in Vice, which the Post learned the former does not want to increase.

Shares of Viacom closed Thursday’s trading at $37.26.

Image Credit: [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons