Seagram Co Ltd

Trumpeter-businessman Herb Alpert and partner Jerry Moss have gotten down to brass tacks with Vivendi Universal, collecting an additional $200 million from the French giant for a music publisher they sold three years ago. The payment, in cash and stock, was part of a contractual guarantee connected with the sale in 2000 of independent publisher Rondor Music. Alpert and Moss originally sold Rondor to Seagram Co. Shortly thereafter, Seagram was gobbled up by Vivendi.

Canal Plus, Europe's largest pay television operator, said Wednesday that it may bid on the film assets of PolyGram to ensure a European competitor to Hollywood's major studios. European producers are alarmed at what might happen to the film unit if Seagram Co.'s Universal Studios Inc., one of the major U.S.-based entertainment companies, swallows up PolyGram, a European entertainment conglomerate, in a deal expected to be formally announced as early as today.

Seagram Co.'s record label has been sued for disseminating songs over the Internet by songwriters and music publishers who claim the rights to hits such as "White Christmas" and "Jailhouse Rock." The plaintiffs--including Elvis Presley Music and Paul McCartney's MPL Communications Inc.--say Seagram's UMG Recordings infringed the copyrights to hundreds of the world's most popular songs. The complaint, filed in federal court in New York, comes three weeks after UMG won a $53.

He is the quintessential Mr. Nice Guy in a world where nice guys typically finish last. Ron Meyer, who Monday was named president of giant entertainment conglomerate MCA Inc., is defined by friends and rivals alike as one of the most generous, trustworthy, accessible and people-savvy agents in an occupation known for its cutthroat nature.

Trumpeter-businessman Herb Alpert and partner Jerry Moss have gotten down to brass tacks with Vivendi Universal, collecting an additional $200 million from the French giant for a music publisher they sold three years ago. The payment, in cash and stock, was part of a contractual guarantee connected with the sale in 2000 of independent publisher Rondor Music. Alpert and Moss originally sold Rondor to Seagram Co. Shortly thereafter, Seagram was gobbled up by Vivendi.

Marking the biggest deal in the history of the record business, Seagram Co. agreed Thursday to pay $10.6 billion to acquire global music giant PolyGram N.V., home to such popular and diverse acts as Hanson, LL Cool J, Van Morrison and Luciano Pavarotti.

Westlake Village-based Dole Food Co. last week finished selling the bulk of its worldwide fruit juice business to the Seagram Co., the Canadian beverage company that is acquiring a majority stake in Universal City's MCA entertainment conglomerate.

Dole Food Co., taking a step toward the long-term goal of separating its food and real estate businesses and shedding poorly performing units, said Thursday that it will sell its worldwide juice business to Seagram Co. for $285 million. David H. Murdock, chairman of Westlake Village-based Dole, said the company was "reviewing all aspects of its businesses with the intent of the sale or distribution of certain assets. . . ." He did not elaborate.

When Edgar Bronfman Jr. declared on Sunday that buying control of MCA Inc. gave him a seat at "the table," local charities might well have salivated. That's because the city of Los Angeles will not just be getting a new corporate leader when he takes control of the entertainment conglomerate next week. It will also welcome a business presence by one of the leading families in the world's Jewish community--and one of the last of the big-time donors.

French communications and utility giant Vivendi is within days of formally acquiring Seagram Co. and its Universal Studios unit after shareholders of both companies voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve the $29-billion deal. Remaining is the expected approval Friday from stockholders of French pay-TV giant Canal Plus and an OK of the deal from the Supreme Court in Ontario, Canada, also considered a given.

Vivendi may face new difficulty in its acquisitions of Seagram Co. and Canal Plus after a representative from the French movie industry said he will ask a court to force more concessions from the company. The acquisition, which would create the world's second-largest media company, has been approved by France's audiovisual regulator, CSA. Film representatives are worried the French television broadcaster won't be able to meet its obligation to subsidize French movies.

Entertainment and spirits giant Seagram Co. on Wednesday posted a first-quarter operating profit versus a year-ago loss, beating Wall Street expectations, helped by box-office successes such as "Gladiator" and the sequel to "The Nutty Professor." Seagram also cited strong DVD and home-video sales of "Erin Brockovich" in its film division and hit albums from Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, rapper Eminem and rocker Bon Jovi in its music division.

Vivendi won European Union antitrust clearance to buy Seagram Co. and Canal Plus for $44 billion, on condition that the French media and utility company sell its stake in British Sky Broadcasting Group. By agreeing to sell within two years its 23% stake in BSkyB, worth as much as $8 billion, Vivendi avoided an extended probe by the EU's antitrust commission. The purchase of Seagram, owner of the largest music company and the Universal film studio, and all of Canal Plus, Europe's No.

The European Commission will decide today whether to approve, with conditions, the proposed merger between France's Vivendi and Canada's Seagram Co. or take it to an in-depth four-month probe. The $34-billion merger would combine Seagram's entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and large music holdings, with Vivendi's growing telecommunications and Internet infrastructure.

Vivendi pledged to accept restrictions on its business to win European Commission approval for its $33.4-billion purchase of Seagram Co., the owner of Universal Music Group, the commission said. "The parties have offered concessions," said Amelia Torres, spokeswoman for Competition Commissioner Mario Monti. The offer automatically pushes back the deadline for the commission to rule on the merger from Monday to Oct. 13.

The much-hyped bidding war over music giant PolyGram won't happen, as potential suitors that included former super-agent Michael Ovitz dropped out Monday. That leaves Seagram Co. clear to announce a deal within days--following a series of board meetings this week by PolyGram and its Dutch parent, Philips Electronics, sources said. Before the estimated $10.5-billion agreement can be consummated, it must be approved by the supervisory and management boards of both PolyGram and Philips.

A weathered lighthouse marks the entry to Florida's newest theme park, but just beyond, a fiercer icon looms: the Hulk Coaster, which blasts riders from 0 to 40 mph in two seconds before turning them upside-down in a zero-gravity loop. Fans of Walt Disney Co.'s comfortable and inviting amusement parks might be taken aback by this collision of Marvel Comics and seaport exotica at the entrance to Islands of Adventure. But Islands is no Disney park.

Entertainment giant Seagram Co., riding a revenue boost from its music unit and movie box-office hits "Erin Brockovich" and "Gladiator," reported a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss Thursday that was less than Wall Street had expected. The company, which is in the process of merging with French utilities group Vivendi, said its net loss widened to $128 million, or 29 cents per share, from $53 million, or 32 cents, a year ago.

Merging media giants Vivendi, Canal Plus and Seagram will have to wait for regulatory scrutiny of their deal after the European Commission said on Wednesday that it needed more data for its review. The commission said it had suspended its probe into the competition aspects of the planned $34-billion deal while the companies provide it with additional unspecified data.