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CBS Shells Out $1.8B to Buy CNET

Network gives shareholders huge premium

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 15, 2008 8:33 AM CDT
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(Newser) – CBS has agreed to buy CNET for $1.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The merger comes just as CNET was facing a full-scale shareholder revolt. Now, those investors are getting $11.50 a share, a price the stock hasn’t touched in two years and a 45% premium on yesterday’s close. Those shares immediately soared to $11.30 in premarket trading.

CBS says the deal will make it one of the top 10 web companies in the US. “There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET,” said CBS chief Les Moonves. But major investor Jana Partners LLC might disagree with the “well-managed” part; the hedge fund has been waging a proxy battle at CNET, advocating strategic change.

Exhibitors and show attendees gather at the CNET's Best of CES Awards ceremony at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008.
Exhibitors and show attendees gather at the CNET's Best of CES Awards ceremony at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In this July, 30, 2007 file photo, the CBS sign and logo adorns the exterior of the of the studios in Los Angeles.
In this July, 30, 2007 file photo, the CBS sign and logo adorns the exterior of the of the studios in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)
Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corp., speaks to a Boston College Chief Executives' Club luncheon Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, in Boston.
Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corp., speaks to a Boston College Chief Executives' Club luncheon Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, in Boston.   (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)
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Internet • CBS • investors • mergers and acquisitions • Leslie Moonves • hedge fund • CNET

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