Sumner Redstone says daughter to leave board: report

(Reuters) - Sumner Redstone, chairman of media company Viacom and broadcaster CBS, said his daughter Shari was no longer heir-apparent to his conglomerate and she would leave its board as part of a deal he reached with her, The New York Times reported on its website on Thursday.

For a long time, Shari Redstone was expected to take the mantle from her father as chairman of Viacom and CBS, but a public dispute over corporate governance between the two last year has left the issue of his succession unclear.

Sumner Redstone said a deal had been reached in principle to buy out his daughter's interest in CBS and Viacom. It involves her receiving control of movie theater firm National Amusements Inc in exchange, the paper said, citing the transcript of an interview to be shown on business news channel CNBC on Thursday.

The elder Redstone holds a majority stake in privately held National Amusements, which controls 80 percent of CBS and Viacom. His daughter is vice chairman of Viacom and CBS, and president of National Amusements.

Shari Redstone owns an estimated 16 percent each of Viacom and CBS and 20 percent of National Amusements.

Nancy Sterling, a spokeswoman for Shari Redstone, said Sumner Redstone's comments were inaccurate and there was no final agreement, the paper reported.

Sterling acknowledged that the father and daughter were in negotiations, which included a confidentiality agreement.

According to Sumner Redstone, his daughter would leave the boards of both CBS and Viacom, the paper said.

Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone could not be immediately reached for comment. Viacom and CBS were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman)