COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Blockbuster Says Viacom Merger Uncertain: Blockbuster Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga said the status of its proposed $6.3-billion merger with Viacom Inc. is still in limbo. Blockbuster officials also said that the merger won’t happen unless the value of the package of Viacom securities offered--now about $23 a share--reaches $31 a share by Sept. 30. Analysts have predicted that the deal will fall through. The plan, announced in January, calls for Blockbuster, the nation’s largest video retailer, to buy 23 million of Viacom’s Class B shares at $55 a share. But Viacom’s shares have been under pressure; the New York-based company reported a first-quarter loss of $431 million due to the expected high cost to gain control of Paramount Communications Inc. Blockbuster helped Viacom finance the first stage of its $10-billion acquisition of Paramount.