MEDIA & ADVERTISING

Bids for Multimedia Inc. Reported: Some big-name buyers are preparing bids for the broadcasting and newspaper company, industry sources said, although complicated tax considerations are drawing out the process. An industry source said the NBC unit of General Electric Co. and Richmond, Va.-based Media General Inc. have teamed up to submit a proposal for Greenville, S.C.-based Multimedia, whose holdings include television stations, a cable TV system, syndicated TV talk shows such as “Donahue” and “Rush Limbaugh” and newspapers. Published reports said Ellis Communications of Atlanta and the investment firm Kelso & Co. are preparing another bid worth more than $41 a share, or about $1.5 billion. Ellis officials did not return telephone calls and a Kelso spokesman declined to comment. Spokesmen for NBC and Media General also declined to comment.