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NATIONAL NEWS<br />
SEAGRAM DRINKS DOWN MCA,<br />
EYES NETWORK CHASER<br />
Halfway<br />
through the decade<br />
that was to mark the metamorphosis<br />
of Hollywood's<br />
production centers into integrated<br />
components of the Japanese consumer<br />
electronics business, a<br />
major Japanese corporate player<br />
sold out most of its stake in one of<br />
the world's biggest entertainment<br />
companies to a Canadian beverage<br />
marketer.<br />
In a move that had been speculated<br />
about for weeks, Matsushita<br />
agreed to sell an 80 percent stake<br />
in MCA Inc., the parent company<br />
of Universal Studios, to Montrealbased<br />
Seagram Co. for a reported<br />
$5.7 bill ion—roughly equivalent to<br />
the dollar amount of Matsushita's<br />
original investment in MCA, which<br />
it purchased in 1990, but actually<br />
several billion dollars less than<br />
Matsushita paid in real terms owing<br />
to the deep decline of the U.S. dollar<br />
against the Japanese yen during<br />
that time. Seagram is operated by<br />
Canada's Bronfman family, which<br />
owns 36 percent of Seagram's<br />
stock, among many other holdings.<br />
The Bronfmans also own 1 4.9 percent<br />
of Warner Bros, parent company<br />
Time Warner, an investment<br />
that is worth about $2 billion and<br />
makes them the largest stockholders<br />
of the world's largest media<br />
conglomerate. At press time, it was<br />
believed the Bronfmans would<br />
likely seek to divest themselves of<br />
their Time Warner stock, though no<br />
timetable for divestiture had been<br />
established.<br />
Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman )r.<br />
indicated that he hoped MCA chair<br />
FILM CREDIT FIGHT<br />
the Wiiters (juild
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