Report: Redstone to sell Midway Games stake
Media mogul's National Amusements is selling its 87 percent stake in the company to reduce a heavy tax burden, according to <i>The Wall Street Journal.</i>
National Amusements, a media and entertainment company controlled by Sumner Redstone, is expected to announce on Monday that it sold its majority stake in Midway Games, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Redstone reportedly sold the 87 percent stake to investor Mark Thomas, in exchange for $100,000 and the assumption of $70 million in secured and unsecured debt.
The transaction, while expected to result in a loss in excess of $800 million for Redstone, is expected to yield a substantial tax break for the media and entertainment investor, according to the Journal.
And for Redstone, that could mean one fewer headache as National Amusements, reportedly in a separate transaction, is busy renegotiating a restructuring of its $1.6 billion in debt with its banks and note holders.
Redstone is under great pressure, as the first portion of the debt, a $800 million bank loan, is due this month, according to a report in the New York Post.
National also holds controlling stakes in CBS, publisher of CNET News, and Viacom.