thestar.com

[Labatt] for the past two years has financed a rival promotions company, Blue Live Entertainment, headed by Hamilton, Ont. promoter Jim Skarratt. The brewery spent $1 million to rent exclusively and refurbish 2,700-seat Massey Hall. It also sponsored concerts at Canada's Wonderland, booked by CPI rival, The Nederlander Group of New York. Two months ago Labatt assigned Nederlander to book more high-profile acts into Massey Hall.

CPI's parent was formerly known as WBC, Ltd., whose equal partners were lawyer David Wolinsky, promoter [Michael Cohl] and Bill Ballard, son of Maple Leaf Gardens owner Harold Ballard. Wolinsky's share was purchased by Cohl and Ballard "simultaneously with the Labatt buy- in" for an undisclosed sum, Cohl said after the news conference. The two retain 55 per cent of BCL - Ballard, Cohl, Labatt.

The litigation never got to court, [Sidney Oland] said after yesterday's press conference. "The relationship broke down because (Cohl) valued his services at a higher price than we valued them. What's different now is that Labatt has a strategic objective in becoming a partner in CPI. This isn't just a sponsorship deal. Besides, (Cohl's) company is much stronger now than it was then."