Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SATURDAY, November 27, 1993 TAG: 9311270098 SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: Chicago Tribune DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Short
The dispute, which pits two suitors that are after Paramount's movie, book publishing and entertainment holdings, began 10 weeks ago when Paramount and Viacom announced plans for a friendly merger that would have created a new entertainment complex called Paramount Viacom International Inc.
Viacom, a major player in cable television through such properties as MTV, Showtime, the Movie Channel and Nickelodeon, has offered $9.87 billion for Paramount.
But QVC, the Chester, Pa.-based company that operates the bulk of today's home shopping television programming, countered with a $10.85 billion counter-offer in a hostile takeover bid.