Music: Merrill Lynch Capital Partners Inc. has...

Music: Merrill Lynch Capital Partners Inc. has arranged to pump $30 million into its Torrance-based Wherehouse Entertainment chain of music and video stores subject to negotiations with the chain’s banks. The money will be used mostly to help fund two acquisitions. Wherehouse has agreed to buy the 15-store Pegasus Music and Video in Utah for a price Wherehouse said would not exceed $10 million. Chief Executive Scott Young said that the acquisition makes Wherehouse the dominant music and video retailer in Utah. In addition, the money also is expected to be used toward permanent financing of Wherehouse’s acquisition last June of Record Shop in Northern California. The 342-store Wherehouse chain is owned by institutional investors who are limited partners in two buyout funds led by Merrill Lynch Capital Partners. As with most Southern California retailers, Wherehouse has been hit hard by the area’s soft economy. The company recently underwent a sweeping executive reorganization.