National Amusements Pushing Viacom/CBS

National Amusements, the majority shareholder of CBS and of Viacom, is urging a combination of the two, Viacom said in a news release Thursday. Viacom said it expects its board to form a special committee of independent directors to consider the request. In the letter to Viacom, National Amusements said such a deal "might offer substantial synergies that would allow the combined company to respond even more aggressively and effectively to the challenges of the changing entertainment and media landscape." In a note to investors Thursday, Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker said, "CBS (and particularly CEO Les Moonves) is in the driver's seat here."