Editing Universal Pictures (section)

=== Matsushita and Seagram ===
Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head [[Lew Wasserman]] sought a rich partner. He located [[Japan]]ese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as [[Panasonic]]), which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6&nbsp;billion in 1990.

On December 9, 1996, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became [[Universal Studios, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Reckard |first=E. Scott |date=December 9, 1996 |title=MCA changes name to Universal Studios Inc. |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/1996/12/09/daily1.html |work=[[American City Business Journals|Orlando Business Journal]]}}</ref> and MCA's music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed [[Universal Music Group]]. MCA Records continued to live on as a label within the Universal Music Group. The following year, G. P. Putnam's Sons was sold to the [[Penguin Group]] subsidiary of [[Pearson PLC]].

Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later, Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor [[Seagram]] for $5.7&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/10/business/mca-sale-deal-seagram-puts-finishing-touches-its-5.7-billion-acquisition-mca.html|title=The MCA Sale: The Deal; Seagram Puts the Finishing Touches on Its $5.7 Billion Acquisition of MCA|last=Fabrikant|first=Geraldine|date=April 10, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 4, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Seagram sold off its stake in [[DuPont]] to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram bought [[PolyGram]] from [[Philips]] in 1999 and other entertainment properties, but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont.