
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 25, 1993                   TAG: 9310250035
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

VIACOM RAISES MERGER OFFER FOR PARAMOUNT

Viacom Inc. increased its friendly offer for Paramount Communications Inc. on Sunday and said an $80-a-share cash tender offer for 51 percent of Paramount's stock would begin today.

That is the same price that QVC Network Inc. proposed last week to pay for 51 percent of Paramount's stock in a hostile tender offer that it planned to launch officially this week.

Both companies said they would offer stock valued at roughly $80 a share for the remaining Paramount shares once the cash offers to stockholders are completed.

Wall Street had anticipated that Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone would have to raise its offer for Paramount once QVC, led by one-time Paramount Pictures boss Barry Diller, crashed the party with a cash and stock offer that QVC said was worth $80 a share and contained more cash. - Associated Press

Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by CNB