Time Warner Entertainment

AT&T Corp. said it would sell its interest in Time Warner Entertainment if it does not receive a favorable tax ruling to spin off Liberty Media Group to comply with conditions of its MediaOne Group Inc. purchase. AT&T told the Federal Communications Commission it probably would sell Liberty Media, but it was prepared to put TWE in a trust to comply with the conditions of its merger if it cannot complete the spinoff, according to a letter to the FCC made available Wednesday.

An AOL Time Warner Inc. venture must pay more than $380 million in punitive damages and interest for mismanaging the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal. Time Warner Entertainment said the jury award to its former partners in the Six Flags park is so excessive that it violates the U.S. Constitution's due-process guarantee.

In the latest Japanese entry into the U.S. entertainment business, electronics maker Toshiba Corp. and trading giant C. Itoh & Co. agreed Tuesday to pay $1 billion for a 12.5% stake in Time Warner Inc.'s historic Warner Bros. studio and its cable television operations, including HBO. The deal--which lightens Time Warner's enormous debt load and improves its access to overseas markets--is a big step toward fulfilling highly paid Chairman Steven J.

Richard D. Parsons' young reign as chairman and chief executive of AOL Time Warner Inc. is showing signs of lingering strain where he least needs it: among the officer corps that keeps his huge operating divisions running. Parsons, who has headed the media giant for less than a year and became chairman only a month ago, last week gathered his 150 top managers for a two-day retreat that was supposed to consign intra-company rivalries to the past.

Time Warner Board Expected to Discuss Cable Purchases: Directors are expected today to also talk about restructuring Time Warner Entertainment in addition to possible acquisitions of Cablevision Industries and the cable properties of Houston Industries. The cable acquisitions have become linked with the restructuring of Time Warner's 63%-owned sister company, Time Warner Entertainment.

An AOL Time Warner Inc. venture must pay more than $380 million in punitive damages and interest for mismanaging the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal. Time Warner Entertainment said the jury award to its former partners in the Six Flags park is so excessive that it violates the U.S. Constitution's due-process guarantee.

Time Warner Entertainment Units Merge: Composer Quincy Jones and TV producer David Salzman have merged their individual production companies into Quincy Jones + David Salzman Entertainment. Previously, both principals operated their own production companies in association with Time Warner Inc., which will remain affiliated with the entertainment conglomerate. QDE principals will continue as executive producers of NBC's "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Dark Justice" on CBS.

Spiegel and Time Warner Announce Home Shopping Vendors: Spiegel Inc. and Time Warner Entertainment said five retailers have agreed to sell products on their joint home shopping channel. Merchandise from Neiman Marcus, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, Sharper Image, and Nature Company will be shown on a 24-hour shopping service called Catalog 1. Spiegel and Eddie Bauer had previously planned to sell products on the channel. Spiegel and Time Warner will launch the channel in four markets in March.

Time Warner Inc. and US West Inc. should resume talks to sort out differences over their partnership in Time Warner Entertainment, the judge presiding over their contract dispute said Friday. Delaware Chancery Court Judge William Allen, speaking at the conclusion of an eight-day trial, appealed by name to Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin and US West Chairman Richard McCormick, who were not present. Allen said he will issue a ruling sometime between the end of May and the middle of June.

U.S. Seeks $20 Million From Enron Ex-CFO Justice Department officials said they would try to seize $20 million in profits illegally reaped by former Enron Corp. Chief Financial Officer Andrew S. Fastow based on information provided by another Enron executive, Michael J. Kopper, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Fastow hasn't been charged but has been portrayed as the mastermind of three allegedly fraudulent off-the-books partnerships.

AOL Time Warner Inc. and AT&T Corp. agreed to dissolve their complex Time Warner Entertainment partnership in a $9-billion deal that also will create a publicly traded cable TV company. AOL Time Warner will pay $3.6 billion in cash and stock to AT&T and get 100% ownership of HBO and Warner Bros. film studios, plus a controlling stake in the new cable company, to be called Time Warner Cable Inc. Time Warner Cable, the nation's second-biggest cable operator with 10.

AOL Time Warner Inc. is poised to simplify one of its most complex business units by buying out AT&T Corp.'s stake in Time Warner Entertainment for $9 billion in cash, AOL stock and shares in a new publicly traded cable business, people familiar with the situation said. The deal, expected as early as today, would give AOL Time Warner full ownership of Warner Bros.

TELEVISION Leno Overcomes the Springsteen Factor Bruce Springsteen's heavily promoted two-night stint on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" last week may have helped the singer's new album top the charts, but it didn't shake up the late-night ratings. "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" maintained its advantage by averaging 5.5 million viewers a night for the week, according to Nielsen estimates released Thursday.

Federal regulators said they will require AT&T Corp. to shed its stake in Time Warner Entertainment to meet conditions attached to the telecommunications giant's $44-billion acquisition of MediaOne Group. AT&T, the nation's largest cable company, told the Federal Communications Commission last week that it would sell Liberty Media Group and slash its share of the nation's cable market to less than 30% as required by the agency earlier this year.

AT&T Corp. said it would sell its interest in Time Warner Entertainment if it does not receive a favorable tax ruling to spin off Liberty Media Group to comply with conditions of its MediaOne Group Inc. purchase. AT&T told the Federal Communications Commission it probably would sell Liberty Media, but it was prepared to put TWE in a trust to comply with the conditions of its merger if it cannot complete the spinoff, according to a letter to the FCC made available Wednesday.

Time Warner Co. and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. announced their plans for a$7.5-billion merger Friday, but not everybody is happy. Three of the harshest critics are in the corporate arena. Here are snapshots of the dissidents and their reasons for opposing the mega-merger. US WEST INC. * Business: Provides local telephone service in states. In 1993, it paid $2.5 billion for a 25.5% stake in Time Warner Entertainment, a cable partnership controlled by Time Warner.

AT&T Corp. could be forced to shed its stake in Time Warner Entertainment or Liberty Media Group Inc. to win approval of its $59-billion purchase of MediaOne Group Inc., people familiar with the discussions said. AT&T, soon to be the largest U.S. cable-television company, has been trying for months to convince the Federal Communications Commission that it should be able to keep Liberty, its programming subsidiary, and its 25% stake in Time Warner Entertainment once the MediaOne purchase closes.

The Federal Communications Commission, whose broad powers over communications deals could sink or constrain America Online's ambitious effort to acquire Time Warner, is set to give swift approval and impose only minor conditions on the deal.

Wall Street expects AT&T Corp. to launch a massive debt-reduction program to keep its credit ratings stable, analysts said Wednesday. AT&T will fund the debt repayment "through the continued divestiture of nonstrategic assets, as well as from the proceeds of the expected IPO of Broadband next year," company spokesman David Caouette said. Broadband is AT&T's cable-television unit. Standard & Poor's Corp.