National Amusements Inc

Media mogul Sumner Redstone has proposed selling part of his family holding company's movie theater circuit to pare down its debt, according to people close to the situation. A restructuring plan submitted to bankers this week by Redstone's private holding company, National Amusements Inc., also proposed shedding stakes in the video game company Midway Games Inc. and slot machine maker WMS Industries Inc.

A decade ago, Tom Stephenson opened a 16-screen theater in Montgomery, Ala., with a brash plan: build a national chain from scratch, one that would siphon business from the major circuits by offering the latest amenities in stadium seating, digital sound, silver-screen-size broadcasts of sporting events and opera. Stephenson recently took a big step toward reaching his goal when his Dallas-based Rave Cinemas emerged as the unlikely buyer of as many as 35 theaters owned by National Amusements Inc., the theater circuit owned by media mogul Sumner Redstone's family.

Brent Redstone, the son of Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone, can proceed with a suit to dissolve family holding company National Amusements Inc. over claims that he was inappropriately removed from Viacom's board. Judge Evelyn Omega Cannon of the Baltimore Circuit Court yesterday denied National Amusements request to dismiss the complaint. The closely held company argued that, because Brent Redstone received his shares as a gift, he had no standing to seek the company's dissolution.

Shari Redstone, taking control of a pet project, has joined with a private equity firm to acquire a Russian movie theater chain from her family-owned National Amusements Inc. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition of the Rising Star Media circuit, which operates in Moscow and St. Petersburg, comes as National Amusements, run by Shari Redstone and her father, Sumner Redstone, has been selling theaters to help pay down debt. National Amusements recently reached a deal to sell 35 U.S. theaters, including the Bridge Cinema de Lux multiplex in Los Angeles, to Texas-based Rave Cinemas.

Viacom International has agreed to provide confidential company information to a firm that has challenged a management-led group's plan to buy out the cable, broadcast and television programming company. Viacom's agreement to disclose the information to National Amusements Inc. was made public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. National Amusements' filing provided no details on the purpose of the disclosures; neither Viacom nor National Amusements would comment.

A partnership between Boston-based National Amusements Inc. and CineBridge Ventures will operate a high-end, 17-screen movie theater at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center in Westchester, the companies said. National Amusement and CineBridge will replace Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection last August.

Billionaire Sumner Redstone got caught in the credit crunch Friday. The 85-year-old mogul, who has long bragged about his financial savvy and competitive drive, was forced to sell a fifth of his family's stake in his two media companies -- Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. -- on a day when the companies' shares were trading at record lows. It shows that even the wealthiest people are not immune to the meltdown in the markets and are being thrust into once-unimaginable situations.

Media mogul Sumner Redstone's family movie theater chain National Amusements Inc. has reached an agreement to sell 35 theaters to Dallas-based exhibitor Rave Motion Pictures, people close to the matter confirmed. Details of the deal, which is believed to include Los Angeles' Bridge: Cinema de Lux multiplex, are still being worked out, but the transaction is expected to be finalized in the next two weeks. Redstone would probably use the proceeds from the sale to retire a portion of National's debt, which was an onerous $1.46 billion until he announced plans in mid-October to sell nearly $1 billion in stock in the two media companies he controls, Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp.

Sumner Redstone, under pressure to restructure his family company's $1.6 billion in debt, said Thursday that "substantial progress" had been made in talks with banks. "An agreement acceptable to all parties is now within reach," the 85-year-old Redstone said during a conference call to discuss Viacom Inc.'s quarterly earnings.

Blackstone Group, Shari Redstone's advisor, has expanded its role in recent weeks to assist National Amusements Inc. in restructuring $1.6 billion in debt, four people familiar with the discussions said. National Amusements is negotiating with its bankers to refinance two $800-million loans, one that was due Friday and another that is due next year.

Sumner Redstone's family-owned movie theater circuit, National Amusements Inc., has closed a deal to unload 29 of the 35 non-core cinema assets it is selling to Texas-based Rave Cinemas. Financial terms weren't disclosed. A transaction for the remaining six -- which includes the Bridge Cinema de Lux multiplex in Los Angeles -- is expected to be finalized in the next couple of weeks. Redstone will use the proceeds of the sale to help pay off National Amusements' outstanding debt.

Sumner Redstone has prevailed in his latest family legal squabble, this time with nephew Michael Redstone over a disputed trust in a case that could have cost the media mogul hundreds of millions of dollars. At issue was Michael Redstone's contention that he'd been unfairly deprived of shares in National Amusements Inc., the holding company through which Sumner Redstone owns controlling stakes in CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. Michael claimed that his late grandfather, Mickey Redstone -- Sumner's father and National Amusements' founder -- had created an oral trust to give him additional shares in the company.

A year after it looked like Sumner Redstone's media empire might collapse under a mountain of debt, the 86-year-old mogul found a way to keep his grip on Viacom Inc., CBS Corp. and other prized assets. On Wednesday, Redstone's privately held National Amusements Inc., the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, said it would sell nearly $1 billion in stock in those companies to help retire $1.46 billion in debt. Redstone plans to sell all of his nonvoting shares in the two entertainment giants -- which could yield as much as $600 million from Viacom and as much as $345 million from CBS. The proceeds would allow Redstone to more than cover a $500-million debt payment due this month.

Billionaire Sumner Redstone is breathing easier. Although the 86-year-old media mogul faces a $500-million debt payment in the next two weeks, substantial gains recently in the value of his family's shares in Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. have given Redstone some badly needed leverage with his lenders. Redstone's privately held family holding company, National Amusements Inc., had planned to sell most if not all of its theater circuit to cover the looming debt payment. But with an improvement in his financial position as well as a loosening of the credit markets, Redstone has decided to hold on to the cinemas -- at least for now -- and thus avoids a fire sale of those assets at the bottom of the market, according to people close to Redstone.

As if a tough earnings report for Viacom Inc. and the looming debt issues of National Amusements Inc. weren't enough of a headache for Sumner Redstone this week, he's also dealing with the latest legal fight involving his fractious family. Today marks the third and final day of testimony in a lawsuit by the Viacom and CBS Corp. chairman's nephew Michael Redstone against his father, Edward, and uncle Sumner.

Sumner Redstone could soon learn whether the fire sale of much of his family's movie theater chain will raise enough cash to make a looming debt payment -- or force him to resort to a Plan B to salvage his shrinking media empire. Bids for the U.S. theaters owned by Redstone's family firm, National Amusements Inc.

Sumner Redstone has prevailed in his latest family legal squabble, this time with nephew Michael Redstone over a disputed trust in a case that could have cost the media mogul hundreds of millions of dollars. At issue was Michael Redstone's contention that he'd been unfairly deprived of shares in National Amusements Inc., the holding company through which Sumner Redstone owns controlling stakes in CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. Michael claimed that his late grandfather, Mickey Redstone -- Sumner's father and National Amusements' founder -- had created an oral trust to give him additional shares in the company.

As if a tough earnings report for Viacom Inc. and the looming debt issues of National Amusements Inc. weren't enough of a headache for Sumner Redstone this week, he's also dealing with the latest legal fight involving his fractious family. Today marks the third and final day of testimony in a lawsuit by the Viacom and CBS Corp. chairman's nephew Michael Redstone against his father, Edward, and uncle Sumner.

Creditors of Midway Games Inc. are suing the Chicago company's board members and former majority owner Sumner Redstone, alleging that his sale of Midway was a "fraudulent transfer" that benefited the media mogul while pushing Midway into bankruptcy. The suit, filed Monday in federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, alleges that Redstone sold his 87% stake to investor Mark E. Thomas for a mere $100,000 so Redstone could register $700 million in tax losses and collect a "massive tax refund."