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ViacomCBS to Weigh Options for CNET as Buyers Show Interest

ViacomCBS to Weigh Options For CNET As Buyers Show Interest

(Bloomberg) -- ViacomCBS Inc. is weighing options for CNET after receiving takeover interest in the product review site, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A number of potential suitors contacted ViacomCBS about the unit after Chief Executive Officer Bob Bakish said he’s looking to offload non-core assets following a merger with CBS Corp. last year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Bakish continues to assess options for a number of businesses and hasn’t made a decision on a sale of CNET, the people said.

A representative for ViacomCBS declined to comment.

CBS bought CNET for $1.8 billion in 2008, adding sites such as TV.com and GameSpot.com. CNET’s value is likely to have shrunk since then, the people said. CNET provides consumer electronics product reviews and news.

ViacomCBS, which completed the merger in December, is looking to generate $500 million in cost savings.

Bakish has already decided to sell CBS’s midtown Manhattan skyscraper known as Black Rock, which could fetch more than $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported in December.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Hammond in New York at ehammond12@bloomberg.net;Nabila Ahmed in New York at nahmed54@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Matthew Monks, Nabila Ahmed

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