National Amusements to Sell $945 Million Of CBS, Viacom Shares

National Amusements Inc. said today it will pay off its creditors in full after selling some noncore assets and a portion of its controlling stakes in CBS Corp. (CBS) and Viacom Inc (VIA).

The sale comes with National Amusements facing a $500 million debt payment due late this month as it struggles to sell off its chain of movie theaters to raise cash.

The privately owned company run by media mogul Sumner Redstone said it expects to make about $600 million from the sale of Viacom shares and about $345 million from the sale of the CBS shares. NAI said it has no intention to further cut its ownership stake in CBS and Viacom, and the company will still hold in excess of 75% of the voting control of each company after the offerings.

In May, the company restructured its debt load in an attempt to avoid further sales of its holdings in Viacom and CBS. The company sold about $230 million worth of shares in the media conglomerates last fall to satisfy lenders.

It had also discussed selling parts of its movie-theater chain in order to meet a $500 million debt payment required by its lenders this month.

In addition to controlling stakes in CBS and Viacom, National Amusements also owns more than 1,500 motion-picture screens in the U.S., U.K., Latin America and Russia, MovieTickets.com and some real-estate assets.

-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; [e-mail];