Defense: Time Warner Inc., wary of the gradual accumulation of its stock by Canadian spirits company Seagram Co., said it has adopted a “poison pill” hostile takeover defense. The plan, unanimously approved by the board, would make it prohibitively expensive to acquire more than a 15 percent stake in Time Warner or to launch a hostile takeover bid. The announcement came a day after Seagram disclosed it had increased its stake to 11.7 percent of Time Warner’s common stock, becoming the largest stockholder in the world’s biggest media company. . . . Sony Corp. and Time Warner are in talks with some of the world’s biggest record companies about forming a rival to MTV, the music-video network owned by Viacom Inc., an industry source said. The source, who is close to the talks and did not want to be identified, said the venture would link Sony Music; Warner Music Group; EMI Music, owned by Thorn EMI PLC; and Polygram, owned by Philips Electronics NV, in a music-video venture that would operate around the globe.
