Word: viacom
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Then there is the number that really catches Redstone's eye: Viacom stock has more than doubled in 12 months, to about $66. The run has been fueled by other developments in Viacom's vast empire, including the sell-off of most of book publisher Simon & Schuster for $4.6 billion, and a hot streak of hit movies, including Titanic. But it would not have been possible without the turn at Blockbuster, which contributes a third of Viacom's annual revenue...
Blockbuster's troubles were destroying the synergistic dreams of its parent, media giant Viacom (1997 sales: $13.2 billion), owner of Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon and MTV. Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone bought Blockbuster in 1994 from billionaire Wayne Huizenga for $8 billion, figuring that the retail stores would be a natural outlet for Viacom's films and music. But by mid-1997, with Viacom's stock stuck to the floor, Redstone had to implement drastic measures, including a $323 million charge at Blockbuster. The charge reflected an unsuccessful attempt to expand Blockbuster's sales by emphasizing music, candy and comics and moving...
...FIRING: EPILOGUE] Viacom's Sumner Redstone fires Frank Biondi; stock falls...
Suburban movie-theater owners say that in a world of media choices, the bulked-up metroplex is the best way to keep customers coming. "People want a reason to leave home," says Dennis Kucherawy, vice president of corporate relations at Famous Players, a Viacom subsidiary that is building IMAX theaters in Canada. "We wanted to restore the excitement of the movie palace of the past. We are building the movie palace of the future...
...other side of the Atlantic, Bertelsmann had been quite vocal about its intention to acquire another U.S. company. The Germans perused the profit and loss statements of Simon & Schuster, owned by Viacom, and of HarperCollins, controlled by News Corp., but couldn't make a deal. For Bertelsmann, the world's third largest media company, the merger immediately establishes a long-sought commanding presence in the U.S., the world's largest media market. "Random House is a dream for Bertelsmann," says Thomas Middelhoff, 44, who engineered the deal just six months before officially stepping into...