Viacom board stays in place

WILMINGTON: Viacom Inc's directors can stay in place, at least for now, as a Delaware judge said at a hearing on Wednesday that a legal fight over who should sit on the media company's board may turn on the mental competence of 93-year-old controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone.

Last week, Redstone and his National Amusements Inc holding company removed five of Viacom's directors, including Chief Executive Philippe Dauman and lead independent director Frederic Salerno, from the company's board.

That marked a big step toward a potential management shake-up at Viacom, which along with CBS Corp makes up Redstone's $40 billion media empire.