Coca-Cola’s Board OKs Sale of Columbia

Coca-Cola Co.’s board on Monday approved the previously announced sale of its holdings in Columbia Entertainment Inc. and said the company would make an after-tax gain of about $530 million from the deal.

Last week Sony Corp. of Japan agreed to buy Columbia for about $4.8 billion, including $3.4 billion cash and the assumption of Columbia’s long-term debt.

Coke holds a 49% stake in Columbia.

Coke said the sale of the company’s 53.8 million shares in Columbia would result in an after-tax gain of $1.53 on a per share basis in 1989.

‘Restraint of Trade’

“Our investment in the entertainment business has provided substantial value and outstanding returns to our shareholders,” said Coca-Cola Chairman Roberto C. Goizueta.

In a related development, Rep. Helen Bentley (R-Md.) has asked the Justice Department to look into possible antitrust violations in Sony’s purchase of Columbia Pictures.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Attorney General’s office over the weekend and released Monday, Bentley said the Sony-Columbia transaction would allow Sony to corner the market and make it difficult for other film and television studios to compete against the Sony empire.

Bentley said Sony is now the largest producer of videocassette recorders in the world and also controls a major portion of the entertainment industry.