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many japanese companies have taken the warnings by the country 's leaders to heart and sought development partnerships rather than landmark properties |
critics say mitsubishi estate 's decision to buy into rockefeller reflects the degree to which companies are <unk> by the pressure to act for the good of japan |
those who have no money and are n't buying think it 's right to <unk> but those with money who want to buy for themselves pay no attention says an official of the <unk> business council |
but to mitsubishi estate the acquisition has just the elements that should win support from both sides |
first of all it is a friendly acquisition in which rockefeller sought out mitsubishi estate and asked it to buy a majority share |
<unk> the two companies found a similarity in their business and development <unk> and intend to cooperate in a range of activities from real estate to telecommunications |
finally mitsubishi estate has no plans to interfere with rockefeller 's management beyond taking a place on the board |
we 'll continue to work with them in keeping with the reputation of the company and we 'll rely very much on their leadership says mitsubishi estate president <unk> <unk> |
rockefeller may well have found its match in mitsubishi estate a company of long history strong government ties and sound resources |
in asset terms mitsubishi estate is the largest real estate firm in japan |
the core of its holdings is N square <unk> of <unk> expensive property in the <unk> district the business and financial center of tokyo often <unk> called mitsubishi village |
the mitsubishi family company acquired that property from the government some N years ago when it was a portion of <unk> residential land running from the <unk> of the imperial palace east toward the <unk> of tiny shops and <unk> <unk> that made up the merchants ' district |
at the time japan had just opened its doors to the world after about N years of <unk> and needed a western-style business center |
mitsubishi built the government 's dream development the story goes in exchange for the official decision to <unk> tokyo 's central railway station there |
that was just an early step in a relationship with government that has earned the mitsubishi group the dubious <unk> of <unk> literally <unk> a title that has the <unk> <unk> of doing the government 's bidding but also suggests the clout inherent in maintaining such close ties |
mitsubishi estate is one of the dozens of companies in today 's mitsubishi group |
it 's known for its <unk> in part because it has had little need for bold overseas ventures in the year ended march N N N of its total revenue came from office building management |
its earnings can rise N N to N N annually simply from the natural turnover of tenants and automatic rent increases says <unk> mcdonald an industry analyst at james capel pacific ltd |
for the latest fiscal year the company 's net income jumped a robust N N to N billion yen $ N million |
for mitsubishi estate the rockefeller purchase will <unk> it firmly into the overseas real estate business the one area where it has lagged notably behind japanese competitors such as mitsui which had purchased the exxon building |
japanese companies need to invest in overseas real estate for diversification says <unk> <unk> an industry analyst at goldman sachs japan corp |
rockefeller is n't the first overseas purchase for mitsubishi estate it has already played a leading role in designing los angeles 's citicorp plaza |
but the rockefeller investment is its largest |
nonetheless it will barely make a <unk> in mitsubishi estate 's finances analysts say |
mitsubishi estate has n't decided how it will raise the funds for the purchase which are due in cash next april but the <unk> holdings alone are estimated to have a market value of as much as N trillion yen to N trillion yen |
moreover as a member of the mitsubishi group which is headed by one of japan 's largest banks it is sure to win a favorable loan |
analysts say the company also could easily issue new convertible bonds or warrants |
meanwhile at home mitsubishi has control of some major projects |
it is the largest private-sector <unk> of the <unk> N project a <unk> development in the port city of <unk> about an hour outside tokyo |
the project is one of a select group of public projects opened to u.s. firms under a <unk> construction trade agreement reached last year |
the centerpiece of that complex the landmark tower will be japan 's <unk> building when it is completed in N |
mitsubishi is also pushing ahead with a controversial plan to <unk> <unk> into a business center of high-tech buildings a project <unk> for N years and six trillion yen |
time warner inc. and sony corp. may be today 's public enemies but the two entertainment giants could end up becoming partners in a number of ventures as part of a settlement of their <unk> legal dispute over hollywood producers peter guber and jon peters |
the warner bros. studio and sony signaled they are close to a settlement yesterday asking a los angeles superior court to postpone a hearing scheduled for tomorrow on warner 's request for a preliminary injunction blocking mr. guber and mr. peters from taking the top posts at columbia pictures entertainment inc |
in separate statements the two sides said they want to have further discussions |
sony is acquiring columbia and guber-peters entertainment co. in two separate transactions valued at more than $ N billion |
warner communications inc. which is being acquired by time warner has filed a $ N billion <unk> suit against sony and the two producers |
warner has a five-year exclusive contract with mr. guber and mr. peters that requires them to make movies exclusively at the warner bros. studio |
the two sides in the legal battle have <unk> accusations of <unk> at each other for weeks and both warner and sony have accused each other of trying to sabotage each other 's prospects for success in the entertainment business |
but it may amount to little more than <unk> the two have continued <unk> <unk> settlement talks over the last few weeks and people familiar with the talks say the matter could be resolved within a week |
both warner and sony declined to comment on the terms of the settlement discussions |
but the people familiar with the talks said that warner is n't expected to get any cash in the settlement |
instead sony is likely to agree to let warner participate in certain of its businesses such as the record club of sony 's cbs records unit |
warner has <unk> sony as the largest record company but it does n't have a powerful world-wide record club like cbs |
the two sides are also discussing certain business ventures involving cable rights to columbia 's movies |
in addition sony is expected to agree to swap columbia 's N N stake in the <unk> <unk> calif. studio that warner and columbia share in exchange for the old mgm studio lot that warner acquired with the purchase of <unk> <unk> corp |
still it may be tough for the two to have a smooth partnership in anything in the wake of sworn affidavits filed over the last week |
one for example came from cbs records chairman walter yetnikoff who will head a committee that will oversee sony 's entertainment division including both records and movies |
in his affidavit mr. yetnikoff accused warner chairman steven j. ross of having an <unk> <unk> bias and said that mr. ross had tried to talk him out of letting sony buy cbs records two years ago for that reason |
mr. ross who will be chairman and co-chief executive officer of time warner after the merger is complete denied that in his own affidavit and called mr. yetnikoff 's remarks vicious and his claims reckless irresponsible and <unk> saying warner under his leadership has started a number of businesses in japan |
mr. ross also said he enjoys warm professional and personal relationships with japanese executives including sony chairman <unk> <unk> who has visited my home here |
but despite the <unk> between mr. ross and mr. yetnikoff officials of the time side of time warner have reportedly been increasingly interested in a settlement that might yield attractive business opportunities |
time executives such as the company 's president n.j nicholas who will eventually be co-chief executive of time warner alongside mr. ross have no personal relationships or <unk> at stake in the fight over the guber-peters duo and were never directly drawn into the fray |
talks between the two sides could <unk> of course as they have more than once since sony announced its plans to hire mr. guber and mr. peters |
but both sides appear to be more willing now to meet each other 's terms to resolve the issue |
and although warner has said it wanted the producers to fulfill the terms of their contract the producers said in sworn court <unk> that they did n't believe the relationship could be repaired after the <unk> of the legal battle |
any settlement is also expected to exclude mr. guber and mr. peters from any of the projects they were working on at warner |
the guber-peters duo have N projects in various stages of development and production at warner including <unk> of the <unk> and a bright <unk> lie |
but that does n't mean mr. guber and mr. peters might not eventually get their hands on some of their projects studios develop hundreds of movies but produce only N to N each year |
once a studio chooses not to actually make a movie that is in development producers are typically free to take it elsewhere |
mr. guber and mr. peters also almost certainly would n't be able to participate in future <unk> to batman the blockbuster hit they produced for warner |
but in acquiring guber-peters entertainment sony will actually get a piece of the profits from batman since the publicly held concern gets certain revenue from the movies mr. guber and mr. peters produce |
the two producers own a combined N N stake in guber-peters |
southern co. 's gulf power co. subsidiary pleaded guilty to two felony charges of conspiracy to make illegal political contributions and tax evasion and paid $ N in fines |
gulf power 's guilty plea before u.s. district judge robert l. <unk> yesterday marks the end of only one part of a <unk> inquiry of southern co |
the company is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation into whether its officials and its utility subsidiaries conspired to cover up their accounting for spare parts to <unk> federal income taxes |
the terms announced today are strictly between the united states and gulf power said u.s. attorney robert l. <unk> |
this is only a further step in a lengthy investigation |
the plea settlement does not allow southern co. to charge any of the $ N to its customers or take action against employees who provided information during the federal inquiry |
gulf power had been under investigation for violating the utility holding company act which prohibits public utilities from making political contributions |
in a statement southern co. president edward l. <unk> said we believe our decision to plead guilty to these charges is responsible and proper |
and our action today will allow gulf power to avoid prolonged <unk> legal proceedings |
he did not say what effect if any the $ N fine would have on the company 's earnings |
mr. <unk> said yesterday 's plea by gulf power which came after months of negotiations was based on evidence that gulf power had set up an elaborate payment system through which it <unk> outside vendors primarily three florida advertising agencies for making illegal political contributions on its behalf |
the <unk> agency for example allegedly made contributions from N to N to various funds for political candidates then submitted bills to gulf power |
the contributions were funded by monthly payments of $ N to $ N to <unk> in the <unk> of a special production fee in effect <unk> the nature of the payments from the internal revenue service federal prosecutors said |
the government also indicated that former gulf power senior vice president jacob f. <unk> <unk> was the <unk> behind the use of the ad agencies <unk> dick leonard group ii inc. and <unk> & <unk> corp. to make payments to various political candidates from N to N |
mr. <unk> who <unk> gulf power 's <unk> efforts died <unk> in a plane crash in april after learning he might be fired following the <unk> of <unk> in a company audit |
government officials declined to say whether the investigation includes the ad agencies or the politicians involved |
in new york stock exchange trading southern co. rose N cents a share to $ N |
frequent <unk> offer <unk> up <unk> debate |
to grab a bigger piece of the declining <unk> market seagram co. has launched a controversial frequent <unk> promotion for its chivas <unk> brand |
under the program dubbed chivas class customers who send in two labels from chivas bottles will receive an upgrade in <unk> class on some trans world airlines flights |
repeat customers also can purchase luxury items at reduced prices |
but at a time of mounting concern over alcohol abuse some liquor marketers consider seagram 's frequent buyer promotion risky |
i 'm surprised they 're doing this says penn <unk> president of <unk> & <unk> co. which markets <unk> walker <unk> |
i would be very leery of anything that says if you drink more you get more |
others question the impact on chivas 's upscale image of a promotion that has customers <unk> off labels |
it 's really bizarre says albert <unk> creative director at the wells rich greene ad agency |
chivas has an image of something you would <unk> rather than <unk> |
chivas class is n't the first such promotion |
last year <unk> <unk> offered N <unk> frequent <unk> miles in exchange for a label |
and <unk> 's gave discounts on scottish merchandise to people who sent in bottle labels |
but the scope of seagram 's chivas promotion sets it apart |
the current campaign is just the first leg of an aggressive <unk> direct marketing plan |
seagram says the promotion is designed to build brand loyalty rather than promote heavy drinking |
seagram asks customers to buy only two or three bottles over a 12-month period says richard shaw vice president of u.s. direct marketing |
we 're not asking them to save up N <unk> |
we 're not saying drink more we 're saying trade up |
<unk> <unk> a milk for hispanic <unk> |
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