Harcourt

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman made new financial demands on Hollywood producer Jeffrey Lurie late last week that have sent Lurie's negotiators scurrying to close the deal to buy the team, sources said.It is unclear whether Braman's latest moves are merely a last-minute negotiating tactic or whether they are designed to scuttle the deal.Lurie, sources said, still plans to be in Philadelphia tomorrow or Wednesday, when he expects Braman to sign an agreement to sell the Eagles for $185 million, the highest amount ever paid for an NFL team.

NEW YORK -- The General Cinema Corp. said yesterday that it had ended its effort to acquire Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. after failing to come to terms with Harcourt's bondholders.General Cinema had been negotiating with the bondholders for several months to complete its proposed acquisition of Harcourt, the financially troubled publishing and insurance company.General Cinema had reportedly raised its bid twice, to $1.5 billion, to meet bondholders' demands."Despite our concerted efforts over the past two months to negotiate in good faith with bondholders, and despite the efforts of a large number of bondholders who believe the transaction was in the best interests of all bondholders, certain significant holders continued to make demands which we believe ignore the economic realities of this transaction," Richard A. Smith, General Cinema's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.