Word: diller
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...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...
After five months of brawling, it finally seems as though the end is in sight. While he stopped short of declaring outright victory for the home- shopping channel, "Diller will not lose any sleep over this new bid," says analyst Logsdon. If Diller does not alter his own bid (most observers believe he will not) and Viacom fails to sweeten its package by early next week, then it remains for Paramount's shareholders to vote with their shares of stock. Though QVC and its advisers radiated confidence at the end of last week, they were not above taking...
...struggle between Sumner Redstone's Viacom and Barry Diller's QVC to acquire Paramount. The winner in this fight will almost certainly be a loser because the winner will overpay. Overpaying is a major symptom of show-business fever. Whatever the wishful rationalization of the day -- magazines and cable TV need the synergy of movies and records (Time and Warner, 1989); hardware needs software (Sony and Matsushita buying Columbia Pictures and MCA/Universal, 1990-91); the information superhighway needs content (everyone, 1993-94) -- it is almost axiomatic that when people come down with show-business fever, they pay a premium...
Close confidants of both Diller and Redstone say they have urged their respective principals in the past few weeks to back down and let the other tough guy win Paramount, plus the exciting obligation of assuming $4 billion to $8 billion in debt. But Redstone has the fever. Last Friday he threw more billions on the table and, to raise the cash, all but ceded control of his company, giving up half the seats on his board of directors to outsiders. He is plainly determined to win, even if it means losing...