The Baby Bells are thundering into the fun-and-games world of multimedia at breakneck speed bearing billions of dollars, and following US West Inc’s major investment for 25% of Time Warner Inc’s cable television unit, Nynex Corp late Monday confirmed that it will help bankroll cable operator Viacom Inc’s bid for Paramount Communications Corp to the tune of a cool $1,200m, making it much easier for Viacom to improve its offer in an attempt to see off rival bidder QVC Network Inc. It also closes out Viacom from the other Baby Bells: We married Nynex, Viacom said, and we don’t believe in bigamy, adding that it talked with all the former Bell telephone companies about possible strategic alliances. Nynex will pay $1,200m for Viacom convertible securities and says it is highly interested in Paramount’s cable-television sports network serving the north-east US. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp has already invested $600m in Viacom to ensure that the bid succeeds.
