GOLDWYN TO MERGE WITH METROMEDIA BY JOHN HORN ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Struggling independent filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn Co. will merge with John Kluge's Metromedia International Group Inc. in a deal valued at $115.4 million, the companies announced Wednesday.

The merger follows Tuesday's collapse of an offer by Holland's PolyGram NV to buy Goldwyn's film and television library for $62 million. The PolyGram offer was surpassed by Metromedia's bid soon after PolyGram made the offer last month.

Goldwyn shareholders will receive $5 worth of Metromedia stock for each share of Goldwyn stock. Samuel Goldwyn Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of the film company, will retain his position running the subsidiary company.

In trading on the American Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Goldwyn shares closed at $4.75, up 62.5 cents.

Once one of the leading producers and distributors of independent film ("Mystic Pizza," "Longtime Companion"), Goldwyn was nearly undone by a string of expensive box-office flops. The recent failures included "The Perez Family" and "Reckless."

Goldwyn's television library includes the syndicated series "American Gladiators." The company's theater chain, with 143 screens in 52 locations, is the nation's largest exhibitor of art films.

Goldwyn is set to release the films "Angels and Insects" and "I Shot Andy Warhol" in the coming months.