Paramount

NEW YORK -- As the midnight deadline neared last night in the long-running takeover battle for Paramount Communications, even executives close to QVC Network conceded that Viacom had apparently won.But even if Viacom has succeeded in its five-month struggle with QVC, there were indications yesterday that the merged Viacom-Paramount might face even greater financial pressures than have been expected.The problems involve Viacom's plan to strengthen its hand by also acquiring Blockbuster Entertainment, the leader in video rentals.

NEW YORK -- The sparring among Paramount Communications Inc. and its rival suitors, Viacom Inc. and QVC Network Inc., heightened yesterday, raising the prospect that the five-month takeover battle will limp past its scheduled Tuesday finale.QVC, responding to "grave concerns" expressed by Paramount about its behavior, told the media and entertainment company it is complying with the auction procedures, which prohibit new bids before Tuesday.At the same time, QVC stated that it was free to amend its bid if neither side gets a majority of Paramount shares by the expiration of tender offers at midnight Monday.

QVC, BellSouth discuss bidRepresentatives of QVC Network Inc. and BellSouth Corp. met the last two days to discuss the possibility of QVC revising its bid for Paramount Communications Inc., sources said yesterday.Final bids in the five-month fight between QVC and Viacom Inc. are due by Tuesday.BellSouth is the largest investor in QVC's bid for Paramount, having agreed to put up $1.5 billion.Viacom is offering $105 a share in cash for 50.1 percent of the company, compared with QVC's bid of $92 a share in cash for the same percentage.

U S West adds sites to networkU S West Inc. identified four more sites yesterday for its proposed multimedia network, which would bring movies, shopping, games and pay-per-view video into homes.The regional phone company said it will add Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boise, Idaho, and Portland, Ore., to the network, already under construction in Omaha, Neb.The company also said that it would add 10 more cities to its construction list by midyear.Merger plan hurts Viacom stockInvestors sent Viacom Inc. stock plunging yesterday, suggesting its merger plan with Blockbuster Entertainment Corp.

NEW YORK -- Call it the power of a misleading headline. Or blame it on the desire of money managers to get home at a decent hour on Friday night.But whatever the reason, the great takeover war for Paramount Communications will drag on for two more weeks, despite the fact Viacom decided not to come up with an offer that was better than the one QVC Network had made.How could that be? The headline that hit the tape late Friday afternoon talked of an offer of $105 a share in cash for control of Paramount.

Who will successfully launch TV's fifth network: Warner Bros. or Paramount?Conventional wisdom among broadcasters is that there's enough potential national advertising revenue to support a fifth network, but not a sixth. Experts also doubt if there are enough non-aligned TV stations to give both proposed networks the nationwide coverage they need to create a network.Both Paramount and Warner Bros. claim they'll need to sign up enough affiliates to cover a minimum of 70 percent of the nation's TV markets to give national advertisers the audience guarantees they'll demand.

NEW YORK -- In what could be the final chapter in a long-running and nasty corporate takeover fight, the board of Paramount Communications Inc. agreed yesterday to merge with the partner it had resisted for months: QVC Network Inc.The endorsement of the $10.2 billion takeover offer was particularly bitter medicine for Paramount's chairman, Martin S. Davis, 64, who since September had led his board in rejecting QVC in favor of a friendly bid from Viacom Inc.The...

Thrift industry profits downProfits earned by the nation's thrift industry declined by 40 percent from July through September because of a $500 million, one-time write-off by two unidentified Northeast institutions, the government said yesterday.Nationwide, profits totaled $762.5 million during the third quarter, down from $1.26 billion in the second and $1.25 billion a year earlier. Maryland savings and loans earned $38.9 million in this year's third quarter compared with $32.6 million a year earlier.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- In a sweeping victory for QVC Network Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court said yesterday that Paramount Communications Inc. had not been fair to its shareholders when it accepted a takeover offer from Viacom Inc. while blocking a higher bid from QVC.The state's highest court, which handed down its 11-page order only hours after hearing the case, upheld a lower court's decision that struck down a defensive tactic by Paramount that would have...

NEW YORK -- Paramount Communications Inc.'s board, faulted in court for its handling of QVC Network Inc.'s takeover offer, probably will convene a committee of independent directors to weigh competing bids, investment bankers and traders said yesterday."