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- <text id=90TT0691>
- <link 91TT0561>
- <link 90TT1017>
- <title>
- Mar. 19, 1990: Ciao, Leo! A New Master At MGM
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
- Mar. 19, 1990 The Right To Die
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- BUSINESS, Page 44
- Ciao, Leo! A New Master at MGM
- </hdr>
- <body>
- <p> Leo, the roaring MGM lion, may be Hollywood's most enduring
- symbol, but lately he's been looking a bit shopworn. Last
- October financier Kirk Kerkorian agreed to sell MGM/UA to
- Australia's Qintex, but the deal collapsed when the buyer could
- not complete the financing. Talks with several other bidders
- have since fizzled. Last week Los Angeles- based Pathe
- Communications said it will pay $1.2 billion for the venerable
- studio, whose 1,000-film library includes James Bond, the Pink
- Panther and West Side Story. "A great day for Europe!" said
- Giancarlo Parretti, the Italian investor who controls Pathe, of
- the agreement. But some film industry veterans were skeptical.
- </p>
- <p> Though Parretti took over the foundering Cannon Group last
- year (and renamed it Pathe Communications), he has run short
- of cash trying to buy several other film companies. To reassure
- Kerkorian's team, Parretti has agreed to place $200 million in
- an escrow account. If the deal falls through, MGM/UA keeps the
- cash and Parretti gets a 12% stake in the studio.
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
-
-