Media Mogul Malone Says He's Steering Clear of Paramount

CNBC's Julia Boorstin reported today that Liberty Media (LMCA) Chairman John Malone said he would not buy a stake in Paramount due to the current Viacom (VIAB) controversy.
By Lindsay Rittenhouse ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Viacom's  (VIAB) - Get ReportParamount is not a company worth buying a stake in right now, Liberty Media (LMCA) Chairman John Malone said, according to CNBC's Julia Boorstin's report on "Squawk on the Street" Thursday.

"That would not be where I would go if it was my decision," Malone stated of the motion picture studio.

Liberty Media owns various media and entertainment companies such as SIRIUS XM (SIRI) and Live Nation Entertainment (LYV).

Paramount and Viacom have some great assets, he noted. However, "right at the moment, because of the turmoil, they are substantially undervalued," Malone explained.

CBS (CBS) CEO Les Moonves would do a "terrific job" if appointed to run Viacom and CBS as a joint company, he added.

When the Viacom board was ousted by owner Sumner Redstone, CEO Philippe Dauman and director George Abrams sued the company, alleging that Redstone is not mentally fit to make that decision and that his daughter Shari Redstone influenced him.

Redstone, owner of National Amusements which holds the majority stakes in CBS and Viacom, is countering the lawsuit brought by Dauman and Abrams.

Shares of Viacom are rising by 3.07% to $42.65 this morning.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated Viacom as a "hold" with a score of C+.

The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity.

However, as a counter to these strengths, TheStreet Ratings also finds weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

You can view the full analysis from the report here: VIAB

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

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