U.S. APPROVES PLAN BY TIME TO BUY LITTLE, BROWN]

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300180077-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 7, 2004
• Sequence Number: 77
• Publication Date: April 20, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

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Approved For Release 2004/ 0%2$: ~A-f3,AP88-01314R00th3$6'1-8d0fT'-0
U.S. Approves Plan Time me to Bt17-Little, Bro
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By HENRY RAYMONT .:
Time Inc., has 'won the ap-
proval of the Justice Depart-
ment for ' its proposed pur-
chase of Little, Brown & Co.,
the Boston publishing house.
James A. Liner; president of
Time, said yesterday-.that he
had received a communication
from the department indicat-
ing that the $17-million pur-
chase did not appear to violate
any antitrust law.
"We are very pleased with
the Justice Department's action
and we have every reason to
be confident that the' merger
will be completed successfully
very soon," he added.
Exchange of Stock
plans for the acquisition of
Little, Brown through an ex-
change of Time stock were an-
nounced on Jan. 15, one month
before the $500-million maga-
zine publishing empire an-
nounced its intention to buy
The Newark Evening News for
about S34-million in a similar
agreement.
Since the negotiations be-
,tween Time and The Newark
News collapsed last week, there)
had been some speculation in!
publishing circles that the ar-
rangement with Little, Brown
might also be in jeopardy..
"The two situations are to-
.tally different," Mr. Linen said.
"In. Newark we were just 'un-
able to come to a final agree-
ment, whereas Little, Brown is
as eager as we are to wind up:
.some few' ' technical :details
needed to complete the mer
gcr.",
Being awaited . are a ruling,
by the Internal Revenue Serv-
.ice pronouncing the deal to be;
tax-free and, a meeting by the
stockholders of Little, Brown
most of. whom are . execu-
tives in the company - late
next month.
Arthur H. Thornhill Jr.,-presi-
dent of the 131-year-old book
publishing concern. and one' of
its major stockholders,.' reiter-
ated his interest in the merger
in an interview in Boston. some
days ago.
"We anticipate no problems'
whatsoever," he said. "We are
all deli^,' zed with the prospects
of exp a..sion offered by the new
resources we will have avail-
able to us and we are already
studying some important new
publishing ventures in oura
general books as well as in:
medical, legal and educational'
books."
Noting that corporate merg-
ers achieved in an exchange of
stock and without cash, pay-
ments are usually tax exempt,
Mr. Thornhill anticipated "an
early and favorable ruling"
from the Internal Revenue Serv-
ice. He was also confident that
the stockholder's meeing would
give a "'wholehearted endorse-
ment" to the move.
Mr. Linen and other Time
executives were more guarded
in predicting their future plans
in the newspaper field.'
"We still have an active in-
terest in the acquisition of
newspapers, but there are no
immediate plans," Andrew
Heiskell,. chairman of the board
of Time said.
Other officials acknowledged
privately that the collapse of
the negotiations with The New-
ark Evening News had repre-
dented a?' setback 'for Time's
plan to develop a newspaper
division, but expected it to be
rgvived as soon as. another
paper was' found for acquisi-
tion. .
These officials, who asked
not to be identified, confirmed
earlier, reports. that the inabil-
ity to reach final agreement
with the Scudder family, which
owns The Newark News, was
caused by' differences over
price.
In announcing its prelimi-
nary agreement, Time had of-
fered to purchase the paper in
exchange for 325,000 shares of
common stock, which at the
time was being traded at 893/4
a share on the New York Stock
Exchange. When the negotia-
tions were abandoned on April
12, the price of the stock had
climbed to 1003/8 a share.
Sources close to the Scudder
family who participated in the
negotiations generally agreed
with the version recounted by
Time officials. -They conceded
that both. sides had been "too
optimistic" . in ?tl}eir financial
egtimates.
"It was really a most: ?Un-
happy combination of factors
and errors were made on.b?th
sides," one key participa11t' 1n
the negotiations said. "although
there is no such thing as an
irrevocable decision, I -am
afraid that the negotiatrobs
are dead."
Just before the merger plans
were officially ended, The
Newark Evening News has dis-
continued its New York edi-
tion, which started on Jan. 23.
Earlier this week, the News,
which is New Jersey's largept:
newspaper, with an audited.
daily circulation of 278,235,
stopped printing closing stacks
in its- final edition because. 9f
delays in delivery. .?,. ;r
"We are just running- the
2:30 P.M. closings as rnar;y
other evening papers do so that
we might bring the last edition ;
out a little faster." an. offlcl 1 '.
at The News said..i;
Approved For. Release 2004/10/28 : CIA-RDR88-01314R000300180077-0