Mgm Ua Communications Co

After a string of big-budget box office disappointments, MGM/UA has replaced its worldwide marketing and distribution president, Robert Levin, and has reorganized its distribution reporting structure. Former Universal Pictures marketing executive Peter Adee will take the post of president of worldwide marketing but will not have responsibility for distribution.

Decision Expected Soon on New MGM/UA Chief: Rumors that former Paramount Pictures Chairman Frank Mancuso will soon be named to a top executive post at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists heated up again, but sources cautioned that other scenarios are still under discussion. People close to the talks said a decision could be reached as early as today. Credit Lyonnais, the French bank that owns MGM and UA, is said to be considering as many as three separate plans for the studios.

Parretti Appeal Rejected: An Amsterdam court rejected Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti's bid to be reinstated as a member of Melia International's management board. Melia removed Parretti on grounds that he had violated company rules. Parretti used Melia as a vehicle for the $1.3-billion purchase of MGM/UA Communications Co. last year. The movie company has since been taken over by its chief lender, France's Credit Lyonnais.

Kerkorian Lawsuit to Proceed: Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's $675-million lawsuit against French bank Credit Lyonnais will be allowed to proceed under a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge's ruling. Kerkorian and the bank are suing each other in a bitter legal battle stemming from Kerkorian's 1990 sale of the MGM/UA studio to Italian businessman Giancarlo Parretti, who later defaulted on loans from Credit Lyonnais. Kerkorian alleges that the deal was a "fraudulent scheme" by Credit Lyonnais.

Although the fate of Giancarlo Parretti and his on-again, off-again takeover of MGM is still very much in question, one thing is certain: The former waiter-turned-movie mogul has launched a cottage industry in publishing. At the moment, three people have books in progress about Parretti's rapid rise and even faster fall. Parretti's troubles seemed to begin when, late in 1990, he acquired MGM/UA Communications Co. from majority owner Kirk Kerkorian for $1.36 billion.

It has all the makings of good drama, including the potential for a tragic ending. With dreams of becoming a movie mogul, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti purchased MGM/UA Communications Co. for $1.36 billion last year. French banking giant Credit Lyonnais bankrolled the dream, then took the studio away when Parretti fell behind on his payments. A grueling custody battle ensued, turning a Delaware courtroom into a Hollywood outpost for a while.

A former MGM/UA Communication Co. executive and a man who claimed to be the owner of a motion picture production services company were charged Wednesday with stealing tens of thousands of dollars from MGM/UA via fraudulent invoices for post-production work.

The chairman of France's big state-owned Credit Lyonnais bank accused underlings Thursday of acting against his orders in making $460 million in loans to Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti in the controversial $1.4-billion deal to buy MGM/UA Communications Co.

In the frantic final days leading up to his acquisition of MGM/UA Communications Corp., Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti signed an agreement trading 10 million shares of studio stock he didn't yet own for an insurance bond that allowed him to close the deal, according to documents filed here in support of a lawsuit. Parretti assigned the MGM/UA shares to Cook Islands-based Century Insurance Ltd. on Oct.

Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti has quietly moved to dismantle the European holding company through which he controls the vast majority of shares in MGM-Pathe Communications Co. The step reflects a restructuring of the complex European holdings that Parretti used in acquiring MGM/UA Communications Co. for $1.3 billion last year. A Parretti spokesman said the financier's control over the holdings wouldn't be increased or diminished by the restructuring.