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Redstone faces tough choices to avoid debt pressures: report
(Reuters) - Media mogul Sumner Redstone may have to choose between selling a stake in the family's movie-theater chain against his daughter's wishes, or parting with a stake in National Amusements Inc, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Redstone and his daughter Shari have differing visions for the family business leading to occasional clashes that may complicate the discussions as National Amusement negotiates with bankers to revisit terms of a $1.6 billion debt, the paper said.
Redstone recently sold stock in CBS Corp (CBS.N) and sister company Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) to pay down debt for his privately held National Amusements Inc, which controls both the companies.
Shari Redstone had insisted that the movie theaters were not to blame for their predicament - something her camp suspected her father was suggesting behind the scenes, the people told the paper.
The second idea of selling a stake in the holding company could be more appealing to Shari Redstone because it would preserve the media empire but could potentially dilute Sumner Redstone's control, or at least dilute his returns, the paper said.
For an easy cash fix, Redstone could sell his interests in Midway Games Inc MWY.N and WMS Industries Inc (WMS.N), the people told the paper.
National Amusement could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill)
