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Viacom CEO Dauman loses US$3.4b betting on his own company

Firm spent US$15.2b buying back shares over the past five years, at an average price of US$60.62 each

Published Tue, Aug 11, 2015 · 09:50 PM
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ADD a stock repurchase programme that now looks like a dud to the woes of Viacom Inc chief executive officer Philippe Dauman.

Viacom spent US$15.2 billion buying back shares over the past five years, at an average price of US$60.62 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The stock closed at US$47.02 on Monday, meaning the company, controlled by 92-year-old Sumner Redstone and led by Mr Dauman, has lost US$3.4 billion investing in itself.

Buybacks amplified the rebound at media companies after the Great Recession knocked down their stocks. The seven largest US entertainment companies have repurchased more than US$100 billion of their shares since 2010.

Now the industry is showing signs of stress, and people are questioning whether the funds would have been better spent investing in new programming or technologies. That's especially true at Viacom, the only one to pay an average price that's higher tha…

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