Word: diller
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Martin Davis, the embattled chairman of Paramount Communications, these are soul-trying times. Just four months ago, Davis engineered a merger agreement with MTV-owner Viacom Inc. that would have made him chief executive of one of the world's media giants. But Hollywood wizard Barry Diller, who now chairs the QVC home-shopping network, crashed in with a hostile bid for Paramount that triggered the first major takeover battle of the 1990s. Paramount directors spurned Diller at first but endorsed his bid in December after Delaware court rulings compelled them to entertain all offers. The board last week reaffirmed...
...matter whether Diller or Redstone prevails, Davis, 66, will soon leave the company he has run successfully since 1983. There would be no place for Davis under Diller. And two weeks ago, Viacom announced an $8.4 billion merger with home-video retailer Blockbuster Entertainment. That deal enabled Viacom to sweeten the cash portion of its bid for Paramount but left little in the way of a role for Davis. With the bidding war now in its final phase -- a winner is expected to emerge in early February -- Davis met last week with TIME Boston bureau chief Sam Allis and business...
...Davis: Let me tell you what I told Diller, with whom I have a merger agreement. I told him I will stay on as long as necessary to insure a smooth transition. I have spent most of my professional career here, so I'm not prepared to just leave tomorrow. I will stay on as long as I can. But that is not a permanent assignment...
...TIME: Did you know when you began your talks with Sumner that an aggressive competitor like Diller could...
...Davis: Only in the media. I think the media have seized upon it, and "nemesis" has been given a new meaning. I think it's totally exaggerated. I think if you put Barry Diller and myself out in the ring in Madison Square Garden, you'd have 12 people show up, all from the New York press. Who cares? He and I have a cordial relationship, and we have had one for some time...