Coke to Sell a Film Unit to De Laurentiis

Coca-Cola Co. said late Friday that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell “substantially all” of the assets of its recently acquired Embassy Pictures unit to movie producer Dino De Laurentiis. Terms were not disclosed.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which owns Columbia Pictures Industries, acquired Embassy last month as part of a $485-million purchase of Los Angeles-based Embassy Communications and Tandem Productions from Norman Lear and A. Jerrold Perenchio.

The announcement Friday said the sale would not affect Coca-Cola’s ownership of Embassy Television, Embassy Home Entertainment or Embassy Telecommunications.

Coca-Cola noted that the sale of Embassy Pictures was in accordance with previously announced plans to divest Embassy’s film operations. The acquisition is expected to be completed within 60 days.

Embassy Pictures currently has in release “The Emerald Forest.” It also has been producing another film with Polygram from the stage hit “A Chorus Line.”