Stock Analysts Wary Of Westinghouse Bid

A $5 billion bid for CBS Inc. while bold - would be a stretch for debt-saddled Westinghouse Electric Corp., probably forcing the sale of at least one core business of the diversified company, analysts said.

“Anything is possible in this world, but this is highly improbable,” said Nicholas Heymann, an analyst at County Natwest Securities.

Published reports said Westinghouse was considering offering about $80 a share, or $5 billion in cash, for CBS.

Analysts said arranging the financing would be tough because Westinghouse still has about $3.4 billion in debt from its now-defunct credit unit.