P.M. BRIEFING : LIN Enriches Merger Plans

LIN Broadcasting Corp. said today it has revised its plans to merge its cellular telephone operations with BellSouth Corp. in a move evidently designed to thwart a buyout bid by McCaw Cellular Communications Inc.

The announcement provides another twist in what has already proven to be a contorted series of moves begun last June when McCaw launched an unsolicited takeover bid for LIN, a New York-based cellular telephone and television company.

LIN offered no estimate of the value of its revised plan.

However, under the new proposal LIN said it intends to give its shareholders a special cash dividend of $42 per share before the merger of cellular operations, up from a $20 per share cash dividend under an earlier plan.

LIN said it was able to pay a higher dividend because BellSouth, the regional telephone company based in Atlanta, agreed to contribute more assets to the merger of cellular interests than originally envisioned.