Paramount Communications

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Paramount Communications resulted from the 1989 restructuring of Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. The new company was named after its prime asset, Paramount Pictures, which was also used popularly for the company as a whole.

That same year, Paramount launched a $12.2 billion hostile bid to acquire Time, Inc. in an attempt to end a stock-swap merger deal between Time and Warner Communications. This caused Time to raise its bid for Warner to $14.9 Billion in cash and stock. Paramount responded by filing a lawsuit in a Delaware court to block the Time-Warner merger. The court ruled twice in favor of Time, forcing Paramount to drop both the Time acquisition and the lawsuit, and allowing the formation of Time Warner.

In 1994, the company announced a merger with Viacom, but QVC, Inc. led by former Paramount Pictures head Barry Diller, launched a counter-bid on Paramount. Viacom prevailed.