Redstone kin agree to bury the hatchet

The granddaughter of Viacom’s controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone has agreed to let a Massachusetts court dismiss claims brought by former company leaders, a step that will help end a battle over the fate of the media empire.

Lawyers for Keryn Redstone said at a Massachusetts court hearing on Friday they have also agreed to mediate remaining parts of her family dispute and that she will have an in-person meeting with her 93-year-old grandfather.

“There will be peace in the Redstone valley,” said Keryn Redstone’s attorney Pierce O’Donnell, speaking to reporters after the hearing at Norfolk County Probate and Family Court in Canton, Mass.

Keryn Redstone’s interest in a family trust is worth $1 billion, he said.

While some terms must still be hammered out, Friday’s agreements will help end an ongoing legal saga over whether Redstone was mentally competent when he removed former Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams from a trust that will determine the fate of his media empire.

On Saturday, Viacom announced that it had come to an agreement with Redstone, and his privately-held National Amusements Inc., which owns 80 percent of the voting shares of Via- com and CBS Corp.

Dauman has stepped down as CEO and will receive as much as $90 million in cash and stock-based compensation, according to the agreement.

But Keryn Redstone, who is Shari Redstone’s niece and was replaced as a trustee in 2012, had challenged the validity of the settlement agreement because she believes her grandfather is being manipulated by his daughter Shari.