Viacom Q4 profit falls

February 12, 2009 Viacom and CBS Corp. controlling shareholder and chairman Sumner Redstone is getting close to a deal with creditors of his holding company National Amusements and reiterated Thursday that he expects NA won't have to sell additional shares of the two entertainment conglomerates. A deal to restructure $1.6 billion of debt at National Amusements, which also houses the movie theater chain of the same name, is "within reach," Redstone said during Viacom's quarterly earnings call. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, meanwhile, warned analysts that the advertising market slump is likely to get worse before improving, citing weaker ad trends in the current first quarter.

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