Play Meter

''~'~i'i~~''i~,~~~~~'~ii'''''~~,~~~,~~~~' ~~ .!VALLEY ACQUIRED BY NEW YORK INVESTMENT FIRM As part of a $200 million corporate buyout, Valley Recreation Products has been acquired by New Yorkbased Fenway Partners Inc. The deal was finalized on Sept. 15. Fenway Partners is an investment firm with approximately $250 million under management. The company concentrates its efforts on making investments in domestic industrial and service companies and then adding value by investing in their operations. The buyout by Fenway included a group of companies from U.S. Industries, a diversified industrial management corporation. Those companies, with aggregate sales of $340 million, fall into two broad categories, consumer leisure products and building materials. "We have assembled a package of properties that represents attractive value with potential for growth both internally and through acquisitions," said Peter Lamm, a principal of Fenway Partners. "The profile of the business fits with our approach of acquiring mid-sized companies that can benefit from added operational focus." .!FEDS TAKE COMMENTS ON CIGARETTE VENDING BAN Industry members still have more than a month to put in their two cents on a proposed all-out ban of cigarette vending by the federal government. The Clinton administration has proposed the ban as part of a program to curb underage smoking. However, a final rule will not be written until the 90-day comment period expires Nov. 9. AMOA has produced a packet for members detailing its position on the issue. AMOA staff members have also been meeting with federal officials about the issue; the association is urging state associations to file comments supporting its position. .IAAMA/ AMOA REACH AGREEMENT ON COPYRIGHT LAW The American Amusement Machine Association and the Amusement and Music Operators Association have reached an agreement to avert a possible legislative conflict over the expiration of a provision of U.S. copyright law governing the public performance right for "parallel" or "gray market" video games. Effective Oct. 1, parallel and gray market games cannot be publicly performed without permission of the copyright holder. Spurred by discussions with key members of Congress, including Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, AAMA and AMOA representatives met and resolved a number of differences with respect to gray market products. In addition, AMOA representatives sought and received assurances from individual video game manufacturers of their intent to continue marketing video games to consumers worldwide with consistent format configurations. Said Tami Norberg-Paulsen, outgoing AMOA president, "We are pleased with the response we have received from individual manufacturers to our concerns. Our industry is best served by working together to resolve differences." Added Rick Kirby, president of AAMA, "We are happy to resolve this potentially contentious issue. We look forward to working with AMOA in advancing the interests of the coin-op amusement machine industry." .!NEW JUKEBOX COMPANY CONTINUES SEEBURG NAME Shuja Haque has started his own jukebox manufacturing company, Jukebox USA Inc., which will manufacture product under the Seeburg brand name. The designs and patents of the Jukebox USA line of products belong to Shttja, and had been licensed to Seeburg International before the company closed its doors. Haque will serve as president and principal shareholder. He is joined by Jack Kapala, vice president and general manager, and David Loethen, sales and marketing director. .!MORTAL KOMBAT LIVE TOUR TAKES TO THE ROAD You have played the game and seen the movie. Now experience Mortal Kombat-The Live Tour, a concert-like show that features martial arts, gymnastics, stunts, hightech audience interaction, state-of-the-art special effects, and illusion. Tour producers are working closely with Williams Entertainment and creators of the Mortal Kombat video game series to keep the show true to the story. The show, which opened in mid-September in two East Coast markets, was described in the New York Times as "an action-fantasy spectacle." It stars some of the real life actors digitized for the video game and showcases spectacular feats of tournament fighting by the world's top martial artists. A new opening date has been set for the national tour, to coincide with Mortal Friday, Oct. 13, when Mortal Kombat 3 will be available for most home game systems. Tour producer David Fishof said, "We've decided to postpone the opening of our national run so that we can pump even more excitement and special effects into the show. Call me crazy, but we want to give kids an entertainment experience that cannot be matched anywhere." .A. .!MISSION CRANE APPOINTS KING PLUSH Mission Crane Service of Anaheim, Calif., has appointed King Plush of Carson, Calif., as its exclusive supplier for the Mission Crane Group Operator Program, effective Aug. 16. According to Mission Crane president Mike Lewis: "Our program is growing and expanding and we're always looking for good qualified operators in different parts of the country. At the present time we have slightly under 100 operators in our program coast to coast." Mission Crane Service, in business since 1989, has been fine-tuning the turnkey operator program for two years. Said Lewis: "We've created a different image for cranes with our models crafted of fine quality woods." PLAY METER 3 OCTOBER 1995