Seagram Aims to Replace Ousted Biondi, Sources Say

In a reversal of strategy that signals continuing management turmoil, Seagram Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. is searching for a high-level executive to oversee the entertainment assets bought by his family’s liquor conglomerate four years ago.

Sources close to Seagram say Leo Hindery Jr., who is credited with saving Tele-Communications Inc. from financial disaster as its president during the last three years, has been approached about stepping into the vacancy left by Frank Biondi, who was fired last fall as chief executive of Seagram’s entertainment division.

Those sources said other undisclosed executives have also been approached.

The company denied any such overtures by Bronfman or anyone else in the company. “The company has had no conversations with Hindery or anyone else about coming to Universal Studios,” said Tod Hullin, a spokesman for Seagram, adding that Bronfman has “high confidence” in the new management structure he put in place in November.

Bronfman restructured Seagram concurrently with Biondi’s ouster, dividing the company into three divisions--music, Universal Studios and beverage--and placing Universal President Ron Meyer, who has responsibility for theme parks, TV and movies, directly in charge of solving the movie division’s problems. At the time, Bronfman said no replacement was needed for Biondi because he would be playing that role.

The fresh efforts by Bronfman to add to his top management underscore the continuing turmoil that has plagued the entertainment group since his family spent $5.7 billion to buy 80% of MCA Inc., which it renamed Universal Studios Inc.

They also undermine Bronfman’s commitment to Wall Street that he would serve as Universal’s chief executive.

Hindery could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Hullin insisted that no recruitment effort was underway by Bronfman. But one source close to Seagram said Bronfman has been “looking and having discussions” for months with executives about helping him turn around the movie, TV, music and theme park operations.

Bronfman has his hands full with the recently concluded $10.4-billion purchase of PolyGram to create the world’s largest record company. The company’s movie division also has suffered from management turnover and a lack of box-office hits.

To jump-start Universal’s television business, Bronfman spun it off last February to Barry Diller, retaining a 45% interest in the resulting USA Networks Inc. The move was seen as an affirmation of Bronfman’s lack of confidence in his top management team.

Sources said discussions between Hindery and Seagram were only formative and that the TCI executive is under contract with AT&T;, where he became president of the cable division earlier this month after the phone giant completed its purchase of TCI.

While Hindery has no experience in Hollywood, one source said he is the kind of seasoned manager who could put the company back on track and restore Wall Street’s confidence in Seagram--predicting an immediate jump in the stock should he ever join the company.

Hindery quadrupled the stock of TCI before its sale to AT&T; for $44 billion.

Hindery also has an intimate understanding of one of Universal’s best-performing assets as a board member, until recently, of USA Networks.